When the Blue Moon Shines
by Rebel Angels
Summary: yosh.This is a Full Metal Alchemist Naruto crossover!I personally, truly like it!Here's the extremely brief summary.Its about a girl named Dana who is a state alchemist and gets accepted to become a ninja.The main character is MY CREATION!so R&R please!
1. Bad Dreams

"_I'm scared Dana, where's mama?" I heard my sister say._

"_I'll get her Becca. You stay here and don't move." I say back. Clutching my big, chunky sidewalk chalk I drew a circle around her. "What ever you do, do not come out of this circle. It'll protect you from anything that comes your way." I turned around and saw her again. "You."_

"_Sister, what are you sayi..."I heard her say, but she already saw._

_I knew my temper was rising. "You. You were the one who made Daddy go away" I said, my face red from the flames around me._

_The pail lady in black chuckled. "Possibly, I make a lot of people "go away". And don't plan to look for your mother now, she can't help you anymore. She just left as well." She said smoothly._

"_You...No. No you didn't. "I heard Becca say. She was starting to tremble._

_The pale lady chuckled softly again. "Barry, come out and have some fun." She called to someone behind her, while keeping her dark pink eyes on us. Behind her, I saw a scrawny man laughing insanely. My eyes slowly moved down to see an Ax reflecting the flames. I gasped._

"_How many are there, Lust?" The man said._

"_Come and find out for yourself. "She said to him, while walking out of the room. "Have fun" she said, loud enough for us to hear her._

"_Don't I always?" Was his reply._

"_Dana, who is that man. He's scary looking. "my dear sister said to me._

_By now I was hugging my sister, trying to comfort her as much as possible. But really, I was more frightened than her. "I don't know Becca, but he won't lay a finger on either of us_**." **That's a lie and you know it!_ I thought to my self. _But what else am I going to say.

_When the strange man approached us, my sister hid behind my back. "Get away from us!" I shouted at him. But he just threw his head back and laughed._

"_Too late. I'm already here" he said, like it was a joking matter._

"_I mean it! Get the hell away from us, NOW!"_

_But he just ignored me. He grabbed me strongly by the arm and threw me against the wall. He started laughing again. "You first, little one."_

_I saw him lift up his ax. "NO!" I screamed_. We're not going down without a fight.

"_Just wait, you'll be together again soon enough."_

OK. Now his attitude it just getting annoying! And now he plans to hurt my sister. MY SISTER!_ "NO! Get the hell away from her!" I ran towards his back and jumped on him. I had no idea what I was doing, or what I was going to do next. All I had in mind was saving Becca. Finally, he stumbled backwards._

"_Get the fuck off me, bitch!"_

"_Get the hell away from my sister!" I shouted into his ear._

_He cut my arm and made me fall off. I slammed into the hard wooden floor with my back. I started hearing screaming. "Dana! Dana help me!" I heard her say. The strange man kicked me hard in the stomach. I looked up and saw her. I saw Becca. I saw her shouting in silence. I felt her leave me_. I'll kill him. I'LL G-D DAMN KILL HIM._ I saw my hand draw something with my chalk. A blue light. Then, darkness._

**(End of dream)(Dana's POV)**

I felt someone shaking me hard. "Dana! Dana! Wake up already!" the voice was saying.

I woke up suddenly. My face was soaked, and my blankets were at the foot of my bed. It was Ed who was shaking me. I see his eyes overflowing with worry.

"You were screaming 'I'm sorry Becca' and a bunch of other stuff. Are you OK?"

I slid a hand down my face. "Yea, I'm fine. Just a bad dream. That's all."

"I don't think so. Who's Becca?"

_That hurt me. I hate talking about my sister._ "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Oh. I'm sorry." He said, obviously upset with himself.

"No problem. Oh. By the way, what time is it?"

"I think around 10:30, 11:00'ish."

"Oh. OK."

"OK. So I'll see you later then!" Ed said. He patted my shoulder as he left.

**(Ed's POV)**

"So, how is she?" Al asked when I came out of the room.

"Fine. 'Just a bad dream' she says. I tried to talk to her about it, but she closed the subject."

"Well, there's nothing else we can do now but comfort her now."

"Yea, I guess. Come on. Lets go roam around the house aimlessly."

"Coming."

**(With Dana)**

_What can I do about it? I can't bring her back, I already tried that. But I can't go on with these dreams. There is always the philosopher stone, but I don't know how to make it. I'll go to the library and look it up._ She thought while eating a bagel.

**(At the public library)**

"Um, excuse me?" Dana said politely.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you have any books on the philosopher stone."

"The philosopher what?" The librarian asked, obviously confused.

"The philosopher stone." She repeated

"I'll check. One moment please." In a moment she said, "I'm sorry. We don't have any books on…that."

"Oh, OK. Well thank you anyway." Dana said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"No problem. Let me know if you need any more help."

"OK."

_Great, now what? I guess I'll look for something else. What was I thinking? The public library having a book like that. Only the state library would possibly have something on it. You're starting to get really sad, Dana. _She thought.

**(With Ed, back at the house)**

_What the hell is up with Dana lately? She's been having these dreams constantly. _Ed thought in his room.

He heard the door open. "Hello? Is anyone home?" He heard. Dana was back from the library.

"Hey. Up here. What's up?"

"Hey! I'm coming up. Where are you exactly?"

"In my room."

"Damn it's cold out!" she said, coming into his room.

"Well, what do you expect, it's December."

Dana just rolled her eyes and smiled.

"So where were you?" He asked.

"Just at the public library." She replied, sitting down on his bed.

"Anything interesting?"

"Nope."

"OK. Skipping to the point. What the hell happened last night?"

"What are you talking about?"

Your dream, what happened? And who's Becca?"

"I told you that I didn't want to talk about it."

"Come on Dana, please!" He begged.

Sighing she said, "Becca was my sister. She was…" she shut her eyes. "She was killed right in front of me."

"Holy shit. Who…who could have done such a thing?"

"Some guy named Barry." Her eyes were still shut.

"Oh my G-d Dana, I never would have thought that."(A/N: Yes people I don't write the word. I'm sorry.)

Shaking her head, she looked up at him. His eyes were full of worry. "No. You wouldn't have thought of it."

_She's so lonely. I've never seen that in her. Wait, Barry? I know that name. Wasn't he that guy who..._ He thought. "What did he use as a weapon?"

"An ax. Why?"

"Just wondering."

"And why is that?"

He sighed. "Because a few years ago, before we met up with you, Winry was visiting us and this guy named Barry the Chopper was on the loose. Lets just say that he enjoyed killing young women. So basically, he kidnapped Winry and scared the crap out of me and Al."

"Oh well, do you think it's the same guy?" _I hate this stuff…why are we even talking about it?_

"Actually, yea. He used an ax as a weapon, and you said that he used the same thing."

"What ever. I heard he was sentenced to death a while ago."

"Well, that wasn't really true." He said.

"What are you going on about now?"

"He ended up being resurrected into a suit of armor, and then planed to take revenge on us and finally kill Winry." Ed sighed and then slouched. "But thankfully, let's just say that we got to him first…Well Al did anyway."

"Yay. Claps for you two. Now all I have to do is find out who that other woman was and why she wanted to kill us in the first place."

"What other woman?" Ed nearly yelled.

"There was also a really creepy woman in a tight, black, strapless dress. I don't remember her so vividly, but I think she had long, wavy, black hair. One thing's for sure; I remember she had a red mark on her chest. Kind of in the form of a serpent chasing its tail." The girl said, suddenly deep in thought.

"Hey, you guys. What's up?" Al said, making a cheerful entrance.

"Hey" Ed said.

"And where exactly have you been, mister!" Dana asked. _Yay! Finally a way to get off the topic!_

"Just…Just around the…the house" He said, a little frightened.

"O.K.!" She said bubbly.

"O.K.?" Asked Al.

"Yup! O.K. I'm going to my room to start reading my eyes out. See ya!"

"Have fun." Ed called after her.

"So, what were you two talking about?" Al asked after they heard Dana close her door.

"Al, your such a busybody!" Ed said, laughing while shaking his head.

"What! Come on! Tell me!"

"I just scratched the surface on Dana's past. It's kinda like ours, except not really. But I don't think she's ready to talk about it just yet."

"O.K. so tell me. I obviously won't tell her unless you want me to."

**With Dana**

_Why does Ed have to be so nosy sometimes! It's driving me insane! I don't wan to talk about my past, so why does he have to go into it. I guess he really is just worried her me._ She thought while lying on her bed, not reading. _I don't even have a good book to read! _"Hey! Did the mail come yet?" she called to anyone who would listen.

Yea. It's in the foyer. I think I saw something for you." Ed called back.

_Well, might as well check it out. _She thought while getting off of her bed. When she got down to the foyer, sure enough, there was a letter for her. _Wonder who it's from. It doesn't have a return address, which means that someone came here and personally dropped it off. _She hopped back to her room and opened it. It was from the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Dear Ms. Dana West,

We have talked with your superiors and it has been decided that our village, the Hidden Leaf, will train you in the art of the ninja. This is to protect your well being and in return you can help our village with some of your alchemy. The first class begins in two weeks. Please be at the academy on the 15th, two days hence of your first class. If you have any question, please contact Iruka, your teacher for the year.

Signed,

The third Hokage


	2. Awkward Meetings

_That's really weird. Am I missing something here? What the hell is this? _Dana thought while re-reading the…interesting letter for the 5th time. _I'll go to Mustang tomorrow and talk to him about this. He must be this "superior" this Hokage guy is talking about._

Picking up the telephone to dial Mustangs office, she remembered her dream for a moment. _Stop thinking about it! Thinking about it will only make you have the dream again._ She mentally yelled at herself.

After looking up the office number, she dialed it. One ring. Two rings. "Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang speaking." She heard.

"Hello, sir. This is Dana West, the memory alchemist. May I make an appointment to speak with you tomorrow?" she said, feeling very awkward.

"Why so urgent?" he asked. She could tell he was grinning.

"I just received a letter that…" she started to say, but got cut off.

"Oh. That letter. Yes, I believe I should tell you a few things about that. Hold on and I will find out when I can speak with you tomorrow." He said, feeling and sounding very relieved to be distracted from his paperwork. "Let's see. Can you come tomorrow at around…2:15?"

"Sure. Thank you very much, sir." She said, remembering her manners.

"No problem. Goodbye." _Waaa. More paperwork._ He thought while looking at what lay before him.

"Goodbye." She said, and hung up.

"Well, that was…awkward. O.K. 2:15. I just hafta wait until then." She thought out loud. _I think I'll go to sleep now. I really hope I don't have another nightmare._

And she didn't.

**2:15 PM the next day**

Mustang heard a knock at the door of his office. "Come in." he knew it was Dana.

"Hello, sir."

"Hello, Memory." He said, using her state name.

Dana's Flashback 

"Congratulations, Dana! You did it! You're a state alchemist!" Ed said, shaking the stunned girl by the shoulders. _I remember the same feeling when I got the letter._ He thought.

"What's all the shouting about?" Al said, coming into the foyer from his room.

"Dana's a state alchemist!" Ed said.

Dana was still frozen in her shocked form.

"Dana? DANA CAN YOU HEAR ME? ANSWER IF YOU CAN HEAR ME!" Ed shouted into her ear. He knew this would get her out of her current state of being.

She blinked. "W…What? How…How did I…How did I get in?"

"SHE'S ALIVE!" Ed said, doing a little dance.

_I think Ed's happier than Dana is._ Al thought.

"…OH MY GOD!" Dana shouted, than hell down on her butt. (A/N: Yes, Jill, like I do when I get all emotional! 33) "O.K. I'm happy now." She said, she said, looking up at the dancing Ed and the proud Al.

Getting named

"You will now be known as the Memory alchemist. Congratulations, Memory." Mustang said.

"Thank you, sir." She said, trying not to cry out with joy.

"Now, your first mission is…"

The memory faded.

End of flashback 

"Come, sit down" he said, offering her a seat.

"Thank you."

"So, have you recently gotten any…unique letters?" He asked, sitting across from her and crossing his legs in a manly manner. (A/N: JILL! Handsome manly features!)

"Yes, actually. That's why I'm here."

"O.K. So here's the deal. It's really up to you. Do you want to extend your knowledge to more than just alchemy?" he said, putting Dana on the spot.

"Well, sure…I guess…why?"

"Because…well…how do I put this?" He asked himself. "O.K. So there are these people called ninjas, and they have a different kind of…well…a different kind of alchemy, sort of thing." (A/N: MARIEL!)

"O.K. And you want me to go and learn there kind of 'alchemy', right?" she said, quoting the word alchemy.

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Well…Because I guess it would just be useful in the end." He said, obviously struggling. (A/N:O.O.C…sorry)

"OK. Now I know your lying, sir." She said, trying to still act professional. She knew that Mustang was very relaxed right now, and when someone is relaxed around her, Dana tends to relax also.

"Yes…well…"he started to say. _Shit! I don't have a reason for why she has to go…So what am I going to tell her? It's just such a high honor to be accepted into a ninja school without being from a ninja family. That's what I'll tell her. _He thought with a troubled look on his face.

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"No. The reason why I believe that you should go…is because it's just such a high honor. If you are not rightfully born in a ninja family, it is very hard to be accepted into something like this. So do you want to go or not?"

"Wow. I guess if it's such I high honor. And I suppose it couldn't hurt to learn more. So yeah, I'll go for it. Is there anything I need to know about this whole 'ninja' thing?"

"Well, for starters, they have no idea what alchemy is. So consider yourself warned when you see faces of awe. And you must act like a regular person from the town…understand?" he said.

"O…k…I'm sorry, but I'm not following you with this one… What's abnormal about me?"

"No. I don't mean that, it's just because of your auto mail arm; people will want to know about it. And if you tell them your story then…"he said, but got cut off.

"Oh. Don't worry, sir. I have a sleeve for my arm so that it looks normal. I don't usually wear it, but I'll wear it there."

"Oh…Well… That's good news."

"OK. Is there anything else?"

"Let me see. Hold on and I'll get my letter." He said while getting up.

Dana nodded.

When Mustang came back with the letter, he said, "OK. So the man who wrote you the letter is considered the king. And your teacher, Iruka, do you have any questions about him?"

"Well, for starters, what should I call him?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, should I call him sir?" she asked.

"Oh, well, I think they'll tell you things like that when you get there."

"But I don't know where it is. How am I supposed to get there?"

"Oh. Almost forgot about that. A squad of most likely 4 people will be picking you up the day you leave at around 10:15 AM."

"OK. And how long will I be staying there?"

"Long enough for you to pack as if you are moving. But don't bring any alchemy books. OK?"

"But why shouldn't I bring any books?"

"I don't really know. The Hokage just said to keep your alchemy confidential. So I guess you wont be using alchemy that much. And that's really it."

Dana was confused about that, but decided not to say any thing. "Alright. Well, thank you for your time, sir. Have a good day." She said while moving towards the door.

"You too, memory." _YEAH RIGHT! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO HAVE A GOOD DAY WITH ALL OF THIS GOD DAMNED PAPER WORK! Hmm…maybe scieszka! _He thought while watching Dana leave his office.

With Dana 

_OK, well I guess I should get a head start on packing. I wonder if I could tell Ed and Al about all of this. They can keep a secret if I tell them to. So why not. _Dana thought while walking through the front door. "Hello. Is anyone home?" she called into the house.

"Hey. Where'd you go?" Ed called back.

"I had to talk to Mustang. I'm coming up."

"K. I'm in my room."

Running up the stairs, Dana heard Ed say "What'd you have to talk with him about?"

"Ed, your so nosey!"

"So." he said, looking up from his alchemy book when she came into the room.

"What are you reading?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and looking over his solder.

"I dunno. I was just in the mood to read something."

"Where's Al?"

"Playing with Alicia over at Hughes's house. She just loves him."

Dana chuckled. "Yea, she sure does."

"So what did you have to talk to Mustang about?"

"OK. I don't know if I'm supposed to tell you about this, so I'm trusting you not to tell anyone but Al. Because, yes, I know that you'll tell him."

"You know me too well, Dana."

"Yeah, well, living with someone for 3 years can do that to you."

"OK, so spill."

"Well, I got a letter in the mail yesterday inviting me to join a ninja village. Did I loose you yet?"

"No, but what's a ninja village?"

"Well, apparently ninja's are kind of like alchemists, but different…somehow."

"OK, well, do they practice a kind of science?" he asked.

"I'm almost as clueless as you are. Do you want me to continue?"

"Go on."

"OK. So this guy who wrote me this letter said that he spoke to my 'superior' and I assumed that he was talking about Mustang, so that's what I was talking to him about."

"O…K…and how long are you going to be at this 'ninja village'?"

"Well, Mustang said that I should pack as if I was moving, clothing wise, but without any alchemy books, so I guess for a while."

"Wait, if it's kind of like alchemy, then why shouldn't you bring any alchemy books?" he asked.

" 'Cause they have no idea what alchemy is." She said plainly.

That came as a shock to Ed.

"Alright, well that's really it, I'm leaving in 2 weeks, so I should get a head start on packing. But first, do we have anything in the house? I'm famished."

"Yeah, I think I'll join you."

"Alright." she said while walking out of the room. As they went downstairs, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it. You start eating, k." she said while putting her jacket on.

Ed nodded.

She opened the door to find no one there. _Stupid ding-dong ditch game. _She thought while walking outside to see if the pranksters were till near bye. But instead of finding kids, she found a group of 3 guys. (A/N: I felt kinda awkward saying guys, but you'll understand why I wrote that! .) "So, are you guys the ones playing ding-dong ditch? Because your playing on the wrong house." She said, her hands on her hips.

"Wrong house you say? I think it was the right house." The silver haired man said. He had a strange mask covering most of his face.

"Are you being fresh with me, mister?" Dana said, her temper rising.

"And what if I am?" he said, mocking her.

"Then I'd tell you to shut up and to go back where you came from."

"And what if we told you that we were from the village hidden in the leaves?" the dark haired guy said.

Dana had to think about this one. "Then I'd tell you that you're 2 weeks early, smart one." She said, grinning. _That was a good one. _She complemented herself.

_Now wait a second, what's going on here?_ The blond thought while crossing his arms. _I know! I'll just look like I know what's going on._

"Are you going to say something too? Because I'm waiting." Dana said to the blond guy.

He got an idea. "Who me? I would never say something rude to a woman such as your self."

"Why thank you. At least someone here has culture." Dana said.

"Hey, Dana, you still out there?"

"Yea." She replied.

"Coming." He said. When he met up with her, he asked, "Who are these guys?"

Ass holes, except for the blond."

"You must be Full Metal. Are you not?" the silver haired guy said.

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

He sighed. "Lets start over, my name is Kakashi Hatake, this is Sasuke Uchiha, and this is Naruto Uzumaki. Our Hokage told us about you. Ring a bell Ms.West? And we're not two weeks early, for your information."

"Are you getting any of this, Dana? 'Cause I'm totally lost." Ed asked.

Dana sighed while bowing her head and turned to go inside. "Yeah Ed. Come on in everyone, we'll talk inside. There's no use in standing outside in the snow for no reason."

Ed was still confused.

When everyone was in the kitchen with their jackets off, Dana asked, "Anyone want anything?"

"No, thank you." The group said.

When Dana sat down at the table, she asked, "Not to be rude or anything, but why are you here? Because I just got the letter yesterday and it told me that you guys were coming in two weeks."

"We just had a few questions to ask you before we head out to the Village." Kakashi said.

"OK. Do you mind that Ed…I mean Full Metal is here?" She asked. As she finished saying that, there was a knock on the front door.

"I'll get it." Ed said.

"Thanks." Dana said.

"Hey Al. Hold on, I'll meet you upstairs." they heard Ed say. When he came back into the room, he said, "Dana, Al's home, I'm going upstairs. It was good to meet you all."

"It was nice to meet you too." Kakashi said.

"K, tell Al I say hi." Dana said. Ed nodded and left.

"So, what's your physical fighting level, you know, like sparring level?" Kakashi asked.

"Call me Dana, and I'm very strong in that position."

With Ed 

"So, how's Elecia?" Ed asked when they were safe within their room.

"Fine. We playing hide and seek and built a snowman. Who's here?"

"Some people for Dana. I don't think we should interrupt. She'll fill us in later."

"Oh. OK."

With Dana 

"So, is that it?" Dana said after a numerous amount of questions.

"Yes, I believe so. Thank you very much, and we'll be seeing you soon." Kakashi said while leading the squad out the door.

"See you in two weeks." She said.

"See ya!" Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded.

"Well, that was…interesting. I need sleep." She said while walking up the stair.

With the squad 

"I think this is going to be a very amusing night." Kakashi announced with his arms crossed. He, Naruto, and Sasuke were standing on a tree near Dana's bedroom. The room was in plain sight.


	3. Must Stay Awake!

Dana opened her door and immediately fell down on her bed face first. When she looked up from her current position, she thought a tornado hit. _Now I have to clean up this mess too? I want to go to sleep! Ok, Dana, the sooner you finish cleaning, the sooner you can go to sleep._ She thought. Before she could actually start, she heard someone talking.

"Nice room you got here, Dana. I have a little surprise for you and I don't think you'll like it." Kakashi said. Dana was already sitting upright in the middle of her bed.

"Um, yeah, about my room, I was just about to start cleaning. But what did you want to tell me? And where's Naruto and Sasuke?"

"They're outside, and the news is that we all leave at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. Our Hokage needs us to take you to the village right away. So you need to take three days worth of clothing, pajamas, and undergarments. A casual outfit, like something that you would wear to a casual dinner, and a black tie occasion outfit. Sorry to make you rush." Kakashi said, giving a fake smile.

"O…k…" Dana said, confused and suspicious. "And…Does Mustang know about this?"

"We told him a few minutes ago. Everyone is ready when you are."

"Alright, let me just call him to make sure…just 'cause he forgets things easily when it's night time. I think it's his paperwork." She said, picking up the telephone and dialing his number. "Hello, Lieutenant Colonel, this is Memory. Have you been notified of my leaving tomorow with three men from the leaf village?"

"Yeah, I just found out…you have my permission to go with them. Have a good time in their village. Good bye." He said tiredly and hung up.

"O…K…well, do you need a place to sleep tonight? Just 'cause we're leaving tomorrow and all." She said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Well, now that you offered, sure!"

"Alright. Would you mind telling Sasuke and Naruto to come through the front door? I'll show you guys where your room is then."

"Sure, be right back, see you at the front door."

She sighed. "Dana, you still up?" She heard Ed ask. "Yeah, I have some news. Those guys are spending the night. Winry's coming tomorrow…right?" she asked.

"No, she's coming tonight…OH SHIT SHE'S COMING TONIGHT!" Ed said frantically.

"YOUR TELLING ME! Oh well…she can sleep in my room." she said as the doorbell rang. "I'll get it."

Dana was expecting to see Kakashi when she opened the door, but instead she found two blonds fighting. The blond girl looked up. "Dana! Oh my God!" she hugged her friend.

"Who's that blond guy…He's an idiot! But that black haired guy is hot! Who are they?" Winry whispered into Dana's ear.

"I'll tell you later, come on." She said, breaking the hug to let everyone else in. "Ed, Al, Winry's here." She called upstairs.

"Winry!" Al called while coming down the stairs. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto were all stunned at Al's armor, but Naruto was the only one who really showed it. It was extremely obvious.

"Um…Hello…My name is Al, My brother is Ed, nice to meet you." He said nervously to the squad.

Everyone heard a bang and turned their attention towards the stairs. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO YOUR ARM, ED? I SWEAR, I HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF YOU EVERY FUCKING DAY!" Winry shouted at the now half-conscious Ed.

Dana smiled. _That's Winry for you. But I know what happened to Ed this time…Winry doesn't want to know."_ She thought. "Yeah, well let me show you to your room." She said to the squad. Thankfully they were too stunned to do anything but accept. "Winry, don't hurt Ed again until I get back please." Dana told her friend.

"Well hurry back then." She said.

Dana smiled as she walked the group up to the room. "Well, here you go. Call me if you need anything. Oh, and I apologize in advance for any shouting you may hear tonight. When my friend, Winry, comes over, all hell breaks loose…if you know what I mean. I'll get some towels for you to wash up with. The bathroom is two doors down on your left."

"Thanks, Dana." Naruto said. Kakashi gave a little wave as Dana walked out the door. He gave a tired sigh.

**WITH DANA**

"So…who are they?" Winry asked, completely ignoring the fact that Ed and Al were in the kitchen as well.

"The blonde's name in Naruto, the black hair is Sasuke, and the silver is Kakashi. I have to tell you guys something really imp…" Dana said, but got cut off.

"What's Sasuke like? He's really hot!" Winry interrupted.

Dana sighed again. "I don't really know. He's quiet and tough, from what I've seen."

"Well, can you do that little head thingy that you do to find out what he's like?"

"Sorry, but I don't want to do that unless it's necessary. And it's not necessary."

"BUT WHY NOT!"

"Because I'm leaving tomorrow and I'll probably be spending a lot of time with…"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE LEAVING IN TWO WEEKS! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN!" Ed shouted.

"Like ten minutes ago, before you asked me if I was still up."

"Umm…I'm not getting this." Winry said.

"Me too." Said Al.

Dana explained the whole situation to Winry and Al, not missing a detail. "Winry, my good, wonderful, kind, loving friend." She said after the explanation.

"What do you want?" the other girl said slyly.

"I need girl help…you know…clothing."

Winry jumped. "What are you talking about? You're the girly one!"

"Well, can you help me?"

Winry took a deep breath. "How could I not? This is the perfect opportunity to destroy your closet. But, where am I sleeping?"

"You can stay in my room…which reminds me…you guys catch up. I have to go clean a little bit." Dana said, while getting up from her seat.

"Man, Dana. You can't sit down for ten minutes today!" Ed commented.

"Ed, you have no idea. I'm exhausted and too busy to sleep. I'll be right back. I'll get your bags, Winry."

"Don't worry about it. I'll bring them up when you're ready."

"K thanks."

"Hey, Dana?" the girl heard when she was about to go into her room. She spun around to come two inches apart, face to face with Sasuke.

Dana woke up a bit from the shock. "What's up, Sasuke? Did we wake you up? I'm sorry about the yelling. Can't say I didn't warn you."

"No, I didn't really notice. Do you have any water other than tap water? I get sick from the tap." He asked.

"Oh, yeah, sure. I'll get you a glass."

"No, I have a canteen." He said while handing the jug.

"OK, hold on." She said while walking to the bathroom.

"Dana, I said no tap water."

"Oh, don't worry about it, it's not tap." She said while filling up the canteen. She put the lid on after it was filled. Sasuke was watching her the entire time. She clapped her hands and put them both on the canteen. Sasuke saw a blue light glowing in the place of Dana's hands. It faded away and she handed him the bottle. "Here you go."

"Was that…your chakra?" Sasuke asked as he took the canteen.

"I don't know what chakra is, but what I just did was alchemy. Don't worry about it. The water's clean now. You wont get sick from it. Is there anything else you wanted?"

_You, I want you._ He thought. "No, that's it. Thanks."

"Any time. See you in the morning."

Sasuke nodded his head before leaving the bathroom. _She's so fucking gorgeous! I've never felt this way about a girl before. She's so caring and kind. Should I talk to Kakashi-sensei about this? Nah, I don't think he's ever had a girlfriend. He's always alone…that's why he reads those perverted books. I can't talk to Naruto about this…that's out of the question. Sakura…no. I'll sleep on it. _He thought while drinking his purified water on his floor bed. He laid back and was soon caught under the sand man's grip.

**WITH DANA**

_Shit! What am I going to do about this mess? I'm leaving tomorrow for God knows haw long! When I'm come back…if I come back…no…I _am_ coming back. This will be just like a mission. Like the long term one Ed is on. I hope he finds out more about the philosopher's stone. It will help me out so much. BUT THIS ROOM! I don't want to come home to a pigsty! And I can't find a thing! This is REALLY bad. Ok, I just want to sleep. Almost done with this corner…then I'll fold those clothes, and I'll move… _Dana's busy thoughts faded away slowly.

**WITH ED, AL, AND WINRY**

"So I think we should do something for Dana, kind of like something to make her relax. You know, ever since that other guy got kicked out of the military and had to move out of the house, Dana's been running everything. You have noticed that…right?" Winry said.

"Yeah, but she never asked for our help, so I figured that she didn't need it." Ed said leaning back in his chair.

"That's because you don't offer it, smart one! Ok, well, it's a good thing I'm here for a while. You guys get some rest, I'm going to go help Dana." She said, getting up from her chair.

"Alright, goodnight, Winry." Al said.

"Good night, you two. See you at nine o'clock I guess."

"Yup. Great, on my day off and I still have to get up early!" Ed complained.

"You think nine o'clock is early? No wonder Dana's a maniac lately. Good night." She said and opened the door to find Dana running frantically around her room. "Dana, your room is clean enough…let's get down to business. I'm looking forward to this…so lets start."

"What, oh…ok…the list of what I need to bring is on the desk." Dana said, finishing up with her cleaning.

Winry looked at the list. "Ok, so for day time you want jeans and tee-shirts…no jewelry…right?"

"Yeah, I'm going to be training a lot…so stuff I can move easily in too."

"And you don't care about what people think of your arm…right? Of course not! I mean we are talking about the great memory alchemist."

Dana chuckled at this remark. "Well…I do have that sock thingy you made for me. I guess I'll be wearing that a lot."

"But I thought you hated hooking that into your auto…" Winry said but got cut off by Dana shushing her.

"Hole on a minute…I think someone's listening." She whispered. She opened the door and low and behold, a blond boy wearing orange fell in.

"YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING LISTENING TO OUR CONVORSATION? I WANT YOU TO APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW MISTER!" Winry shouted.

Dana put a hand over her friend's mouth. "Sorry about her… Is there something you needed, Naruto?"

The boy was dumbfounded. "Ughhhh…I just…I just wanted to thank you for letting us stay here for the night. So…thanks, Dana." He said, smiling nervously.

Dana knew he was lying, but gave up. She was too tired to challenge anyone right now. "Oh, well it's not a problem. Good night, Naruto. Get some sleep, it's almost midnight and we're leaving kind of early tomorrow."

"K. Night." He said and left.

"You know he was lying…right, Dana." Winry said when Dana went to check the door.

"Yeah, but I don't really care right now. You know what…screw this. I'll have one outfit and clean it with alchemy. Kakashi said they have a clothing store in the village. I'll just get other stuff there. And I already know what my casual and dressy outfits are."

"So, what did you need me for?"

"I don't know, Winry…I thought I was going to have to make a lot of decisions, and you're better at that than I am."

"Alright…so what is your dressy outfit?"

Dana put the dress on for her friend. It was chocolate brown with spaghetti straps, a low cut front, a scrunched middle and a fairy cut hem. There was a pretty little knot near the butt of the dress, which hung down lazily. "What do you think?"

"I love it! It's absolutely beautiful! Now, not to sound rude, but take it off so I can start working on your arm."

Dana took the dress off and changed into pajamas before taking off her arm. Winry took one look at it and said: "Dana, have you been fighting with Ed and Al again?" Dana rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "I'll take that as a yes. Ok, fine. I'll enhance a few things so you can fight more since you'll be training and all. But it's going to be a bit heavier."

"Ok, that works. I don't care how heavy it is, as long as it won't break. Wait…will it fit in my sleeve thingy?"

"Yeah, don't worry about that. You go to sleep now, all right. I'll see you in the morning. I'm going to work at your desk."

"Are you sure? I don't mind staying up."

"Dana, your exhausted…I can tell. You have a long day tomorrow and I don't want you to be falling asleep while your walking, got it. Besides, I slept the whole train ride here. And that's almost seven hours from Risenbull to Central. I'm wide-awake." Winry said.

"Well, if you say so. You know where the sheets are. I'd at least make your bed, but I'm kind of handy capped right now. So good night." Dana said while crawling into her long awaited bed.

"Night." Winry said, already working on her best friend's arm.


	4. In The Beginning

**Attention Readers: I am soooooooooooooooooooo(times one million) sorry for the late update...i haven't gotten time at all to get to a computer, and when i did find time, i would always be typing an essay or something...so please forgive me...and there might be some mistakes, just because i typed this mostly in one night and it's right before midterms...so R&R please!Rebel Angels**

"Dana…Dana wake up. Dana." The sleeping girl heard while she was being shaken softly.

"Wha…what time is it?" she asked the person shaking her.

"It's 6:50. Come on, get up." The man said.

Dana didn't see a way out of this. Her eyes were still shut.

_Holy shit! What happened to her arm! It's...it's not there!_ Kakashi thought while trying to get Dana out of bed. _Girls are so hard to wake up. Thank Kami that Sakura's not like this._

Dana opened her eyes to see Kakashi staring at her shoulder…her right shoulder…that did not connect to her right arm. Her eye twitched. She jerked away from Kakashi, trying to get away from explaining the situation, but ended up toppling over the sleeping Whinry on the floor.

"Dana what the fuck are you doin'? And why are you up this early? Get offa me!" The sleepy blond said.

Dana was a little out of it. "Oh, sorry Whinry." She said, "Whinry, did you finish my automail? Cause I have some unexpected company in the room and he is staring at my shoulder. Can you help me?" she whispered.

"Fine." Whinry said. While sitting upright, she noticed the shock of the silver hair and knew immediately that she had to be polite. "Umm, can you give me a few minutes with her? I need to help her with some clothing issues." She said, giving Kakashi one of her famous smiles.

Kakashi was still in shock, but thankfully for him, his mask covered any sign of surprise. "Okay, Dana can you meet me outside in the front yard as soon as your finished?"

"Okay sure. See you soon." She said smiling nervously.

Kakashi walked out of the room and gave a little wave.

"FUCK!!! I DIDN'T WANT THIS TO FUCKING HAPPEN! Now he'll be totally creeped out and I was going to start over with this group! This is bad, this is REALLY bad! Oh My God!"

"Dana! DANA! It's fine! Calm down! You'll talk to him and you'll tell him to keep it a secret. Now let's get you set up." Whinry said, shaking her friend by the shoulders.

"Okay…that's what I'll do…I'll just tell him the truth. Yes…that's what I'll do." she said while moving towards her desk.

"Ready?" Whinry said while putting her hands on the lever that attached the arm.

"Yeah"

"1…" Whinry and Dana said together.

"2…" Dana said while bracing herself.

"3!" Whinry said as she pulled the lever down.

Dana swallowed a cry of pain. "Ow. I hate this part. Ok. Pains over."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Grams and I are figuring out how to make it less painful. But for now, your gunna hafta deal. Okay, so, you can fight durably. Oh and I put in a little extra metal in there, so you can do that knife thingy that you and Ed do so you won't change the whole format of the arm...Can I go back to sleep now?" Whinry asked, still half asleep.

"Yeah, thanks so much Whinry. I'll pay you when I get back from…whatever Kakashi wants to do with me. Go back to sleep."

"K." Winry said, already back in her cot and falling asleep.

After getting washed up, throwing some clothes and her skin-sleeve on, brushing her long brown hair and putting it up in a bun, Dana hopped downstairs to find the front door open.

She went outside and felt the cold December air rush into her lungs. Dana loved winter. She loved the snow, and she loved she loved how simple everything was. And to top it all off, her birthday was in the winter. And coming soon.

_Three weeks. Three weeks and I'll be sixteen. Wow. It really seems like yesterday that I met Ed and Al at Winry's house for that tune up. Was it really three years ago? I guess it was, wasn't it? That reminds me…what am I getting Ed for his birthday? It's the day before mine. Whatever. I'll think about that later. Now where's Kakashi?_ She thought while looking around.

"Boo." She heard Kakashi say behind her.

"Agh. You really scared me, Kakashi." She said sarcastically.

"Fine. All right, so I'm going to give you a little test. You and I are going to fight one another. No rules. Think I'm the enemy."

Dana was slightly confused as to why they were going to do this. "O…Kay…"

Kakashi saw her confusion and decided to explain. "I'm doing this only to see your skills. Don't worry; I'll always be on your side when the real battles happen. Oh, actually, there is one rule. No killing. You ready to start?"

"Yeah, ready when you are."

"Okay. Start…now!" he said while jumping away from the girl for a head start. Kakashi wasn't going to underestimate Dana because first of all, he didn't no much about her skills aside from what she told him, and second of all, she was a state alchemist and Kakashi knew that the military looks for skills in almost every area.

Dana was already one step head of him. She arrived at his stopping point moments before him, clapped her hands, and put up a barrier around herself. She clapped her hands again in order to complete the barrier as Kakashi came closer to her.

Kakashi had no idea that Dana was waiting for him. Kakashi suddenly saw her when he turned his head around. _She's fast! Too bad I left my bells at home._ He thought as he moved his legs in order to push off of her. He saw a blindingly bright blue light and then darkness.

**10 minutes later**

_Ugh. My head is killing me…wait…I'm supposed to be sparring with Dana right now…_ Kakashi thought while lying down. He shot up to find Dana crouching over his legs. "Dana? What happened? And what are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh, your up! Great, hold on a minute. I paralyzed your legs…well…I guess you paralyzed them…just hold on a minute. I'm almost done." She said, not taking her eyes off of Kakashi's calves.

"Okay…?" he said, still watching the crouching girl. _I should say something about her before…or ask her about her arm…that was too weird…_

"Can we keep my arm a secret between you and me? I don't really want anyone else getting creeped out like you did…I'm sorry you had to see that. But you most likely wont see it again." Dana said, then clapped her hands again gave off a healing blue light.

Kakashi watched in amazement. "What is that?" he asked. (A/N: O.O.C… sorry.)

"It's alchemy." She said with a hint of proudness in her voice. "Can you promise me that you won't tell a soul about my arm?"

"Yeah. Your secret is safe with me. But can you tell me what happened? Why do you have that…that…" he said, not knowing what to call the mechanical arm.

"Automail. You want to know why I have a machine for an arm. It's a long story, but basically I lost it in an accident."

Kakashi knew that he shouldn't have asked about it because of the hurt look on her face. "Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that. Are you done with my legs yet?" he said as he noticed that the blue light was gone.

"Yeah, you'll have a little trouble walking for a few minutes, but you're lucky I'm here to help you walk."

"Okay, well, do you want to walk around for a little bit? You know, until I can walk by myself?" Kakashi said while Dana helped him stand up.

"Let me guess, you don't want Sasuke and Naruto to see you like this, do you?" Dana said plainly.

Kakashi gave her an uneasy smile, which you could see through his mask, and a little rub on the back of his neck.

"I'll take that as a yes." Dana said and chuckled. "You guys are funny! I'm gunna have a great time with you…I know it! Come on, let's get you walking."

Kakashi chuckled contently. "So, what do you think of Sasuke and Naruto?" he asked.

"To tell you the truth, I think they're almost polar opposites."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked in terms of making conversation.

"Well, you can tell from the moment you look at them. Naruto has a huge heart that's caring and thoughtful. And…well…Sasuke doesn't…really. But this is only based on first impressions! They might be totally different!" Dana said, trying to cover up from the diss that she accidentally made towards Sasuke.

"Haha, well, don't worry, they gave pretty good first impressions then. But why do you think that about Sasuke?"

"Well, I don't know. He seems kind of cold to me. A sort of 'I don't really care about you' sort of vibe…if you know what I mean." Kakashi's legs gave out a little. "Whoa there, careful." She said catching the falling man with her right arm around his waist. (A/N: It should be the other way around, shouldn't it! eyebrows raise in a perverted way! Haha jk!)

"Thanks. But really, I understand what you mean. Don't worry, get to know him a little bit and then tell me what you think. Okay, I think I'm all right now. Thanks." Kakashi said.

"Okay, just go easy on your legs for the next like…ten minutes. So you'll be fine around 10:30. When do you want breakfast? I'll cook."

"I don't know… I guess a quarter to eight sounds good."

"Okay, any preferences?"

"Your choice. See you soon." Kakashi said as the two walked back into the house. He went back to the guest bedroom.

(An/: I am the farthest thing from a cook, so if there's anything that isn't right with the way this is explained…please excuse me!)

Dana sighed as she took off her coat. _Well, better get started. Okay, what can I get a lot of milk in for Ed? I could put some in eggs. I know he likes those…well, he likes most of the things he eats. But I should see if any of those guys are lactose-intolerant._ She thought and sighed again. Dana knocked on the door of the guest bedroom. Kakashi answered. "Hey, are any of you guys lactose-intolerant? I was just wondering in terms of breakfast."

"No, none of us are. But thanks for asking." He said kindly.

"Okay, thanks." Dana said. Back in the kitchen, she planned her cooking order. _Okay, so while one side of the pancakes are cooking, I can start the French toast. And…the eggs have to go last. Um…I might need a little help with all of this. I have no idea how mom made all of this so fast all by herself! Crap! I need bagels and toast for the eggs. Okay…eggs, bagels, toast, pancakes, and French toast. That's it! If I have enough time, ten I'll make the waffles. That's what I'll do._ She thought.

And so she got to work.

When she found a free moment, she ran upstairs to wake everyone up. _Winry first. She's the hardest to wake up._ She thought as she walked into her room.

"Winry…Winry wake up…it's almost breakfast. Winry." She said, shaking her best friend harshly.

"Ugh…what doya want now bitch?" the blond mumbled.

"It's almost time for breakfast…can you set the table for me? Thanks, I'm gunna go wake everyone else up."

Apparently Winry didn't have a choice but to get up.

Dana knocked on Ed and Al's door. There was no answer, so Dana took the liberty to go in herself. She went to Al first since he was the easiest to wake up. "Al. Al walk up, Al." she said. She saw signs of life.

"Good morning, Dana. Why are you up so early?"

"Long story. It's almost breakfast and I hoped you would want to share it with us…can you wake Ed up for me?…better yet, I'm already up, I'll do it." She said. _It's the last time I'm going to see that sleeping face for a while. I want to enjoy it._ She thought while moving over to Ed's bed and sitting on the white blanket. "Ed." She said quietly. "Ed, wake up. Good morning, Ed." She said, shaking him softly.

"Dana?" he said sleepily.

"Yeah, Ed…It's me. You awake yet?"

"'Mornin', Dana. Why you up so early?" he said, slowly sitting up to look into the face of the girl that he loved so much and couldn't even tell.

"Hey. Breakfast is almost ready so get up. Winry's already up and I'm going to wake up everyone else up. See you soon." She said, patting Ed's shoulder and tapping Al's "head" and walked out the door.

"Ed. You should tell her how you feel today. You might not see her for a long time." Al said after Dana left the room.

"I know I should, but I…I guess I don't know how. I'll try. I'm going to the bathroom…be right back." The blond said while stretching and getting up.

With Dana 

_Well, here goes nothin'._ She thought while knocking the door to wake up her guests. There was no answer._ Fuck! I was hoping someone would answer! Now I have to wake them up personally._ She thought as her hand slowly moved towards the door.

She opened the door to find the three boys fast asleep. _Oh joy._ She thought. She went to wake up Sasuke first, because she thought that he would be the easiest to wake up. "Sasuke…Sasuke wake up." She said quietly again, while softly shaking the black haired boy's shoulder. "Sasuke, wake up."

He moaned. "Sasuke." She said quietly again. Then, he jumped up as if he slept through an alarm.

"Wha…" he said confused. Dana was sitting on her butt, in the position that she was in when she just missed Sasuke's jump. She blinked.

"Well…glad you're up, Sasuke. Good morning…" she said, almost as confused as Sasuke.

"'Morning. What time is it?" he said, getting his thoughts strait.

Dana tried not to look at Sasuke's bare chest as she said: "It's twenty minutes to eight, Breakfast is almost ready. There are some towels for you guys in the bathroom to get washed with. I'm gunna wake everyone else up." She said, getting up.

Sasuke mumbled something, but Dana was already waking up Kakashi and Naruto, so she didn't hear it. _She woke **me** up first…does that mean something?_ He thought while sitting up and watching Dana wake up his sensei and his fellow teammate.

"Okay…I'll you guys down when breakfast is ready. See ya!" she said, and walked out of the room.

"She's nice. I think I'm gunna like her, do you think so, Sasuke?" Naruto said, and then yawned.

Sasuke stayed silent, too afraid of what he might say.

"Hey, Sasuke, I asked you a question. Do you like her?"

"What ever. I'm going to the bathroom, Dana said that there are some towels for us there." He said, getting up and forgetting to put his shirt on.

The Uchiha wasn't paying attention when he bumped into something blond. He looked down to see Winry. _That girl again._ He thought.

"Sorry about that, Sasuke. See you at breakfast. Better get hungry, 'cause when Dana makes breakfast, you'll be full for a week. No joke." She said happily as she walked towards the stairs. _Hotty, but not my type…what ever._ She thought and shrugged to herself.

"Breakfast's ready!" Dana called in her motherly voice that penetrated through every wall in the house. Another spectacular quality she got from her mother.

Everyone stampeded down into the kitchen and took their seats. Dana started to bring out the food and Naruto's eyes got larger with every plate. Dana looked over at Naruto's face. _Maybe I overdid it? I did the waffles, the French toast and the pancakes. And the bagels and eggs…shit…I did overdo it…didn't I? Oh…I forgot lox. Oh well…they'll deal._ She thought and reached over Sasuke to put the last of the "buffet" breakfast down. "Dig in. I hope you like it! Oh…does anyone want something to drink?" she said.

"I'll have orange juice, please." Naruto said, already stuffing his face with French toast covered with jam. (A/N: you all may not know this…but French toast with jam is AMAZING! I prefer strawberry jam…but you can try other kinds. Try it sometime!!!)

"Me too." Sasuke said, reaching for a waffle.

"Dana, let me do this…you've done so much for us already." Winry said, and glanced at Ed to see if he got the message. He didn't. Apparently, he was too involved in his pancakes and syrup to care. He was happy with his tap water.

"It's okay, I got it. I'm almost done putting some of the stuff away anyway. Do you want something, Winry?"

"Well…if you don't mind putting a cup of coffee up, I'll have some of that." Winry said hopefully.

"Sure…Kakashi do you want something?"

"I'll have some coffee too."

"Sure…"she said and went to pour the drinks.

Dana served them and then sat down at the last empty seat in between Ed and Winry. "So, what's the village like?" She asked as she grabbed some eggs and a bagel.

Of course, Naruto was the first one to answer. "Oh, it's awesome! I'll show you the whole place when we get there!"

**8:50 A.M.**

"Dana, don't be afraid to call. When ever you need a tune up or whenever you just wanna talk, just call…okay?" Winry said, hugging her best friend tightly.

"Don't worry…you'll be sick of me soon enough." Dana said back.

"I don't think that's possible." Winry said, breaking the hug.

She turned to Ed and couldn't help smiling. "Ed, I don't want you to get into any trouble without me…okay? When I see you again, we'll beat the shit out of each other so hard that we'll both have bruises on our heads from Winry…okay?" she said, hugging the blond boy tightly. She really was going to miss him. All those days spent with him. She'll defiantly miss him.

"Okay." Ed said quietly into Dana's ear while hugging her close as well.

"Are you crying?" she said, pulling back from their hug to see.

"No!" Ed said and pulled her back to him.

"Sure." She said, chuckling. She said, already missing him. "Hey. Promise me something…okay." She said.

"Sure, what?"

"I want you to finish every yogurt in the fridge, okay." She said.

He sighed while still hugging his crush. "You always find a way to act like you're my mom. Fine, Dana. I'll eat the yogurt."

"Great." She said. Then she did something that Ed didn't expect. She kissed him on the cheek sweetly. Then she casually broke the hug and turned to Al. "Al. I want you to promise me to make Ed eat all of those yogurts. Tell him that it'll make him taller. Okay?"

"Okay, Dana, I will. Write to us if you can't call." He said.

"Alright, I will…take care of yourself. If I find out that either one of you gets hurt, then I'll be really pissed off." The memory alchemist said, looking up at her friend.

"Hey, Dana. C'mon. We gotta get going." Naruto called.

"Well, I guess that's my queue. I love you guys and I'll miss you!" Dana said to her three best friends. The through her backpack on, which had more of her belongings in it than it did last night, and turned to meet her new group.

_And we're off._ Dana thought as they started walking.


	5. Getting There

**Chapter 5: Getting there...**

_Ugh! This is so awkward! I don't know what to talk to them about! They already told me about the village, and about Sakura and… basically everything there is to talk about. _Dana thought while walking silently along side Sasuke and Naruto.

"So tell us about you, Dana" Naruto said, obviously annoyed at the awkward silence too.

"Well, what do you want to know?" she asked.

"I don't know, what's your family like?" he asked.

Dana tried not to cry and let her true emotions through. "I'm sorry; I'd rather not talk about them."

"Why? Are you in a fight with them or something?" Naruto asked, obviously not getting it.

"Naruto, she said she doesn't want to talk about it. Drop it." Sasuke said.

"No, Sasuke it's alright. And yes Naruto, it is something like that. Nothing for you to worry about."

"Oh, ok. So what else?"

"How long have you been living with Ed and Al?" Sasuke asked. Both Naruto and Kakashi stared at him; normally he didn't pry into other peoples business.

"About three years I think."

"How'd you meet?"

"We met at Winry's when I was thirteen. It seems like so long ago, now that I think about it." she said deep in thought.

_Shit, I sense a great amount of chakra heading this way. We better move fast…_ Kakashi thought, noticing Sasuke and Naruto sensed it too. Dana also stiffened as she felt the danger approaching.

"I'm gonna look ahead a little bit. Be right back" Dana said as she took off at a run before they could protest. As she went around the bend in the road, she saw ahead a man who slightly resembled a snake with golden eyes and pale skin. He had straight black hair that reached his waist and he was wearing a white kimono with a big purple obi tying in a large bow at his back.

As he slowly walked toward her, she could feel and practically see the energy crackle around him. He stopped a foot in front of her and looked into her eyes as she suppressed the urge to shudder. "Hello, what's your name?" he asked, his voice also sounding like a snake hiss.

"Isn't it proper to introduce yourself before asking someone else's name?" she replied, avoiding his question.

"Oh, silly me" he said mocking her, "It seems that you don't know who I am. I am Orochimaru, leader of the Sound Village. I'm looking for someone, could you help me?"

"Depends on who your looking for, and even if I do know who your looking for, I might not tell you where they are" she retorted obnoxiously.

"Oh, don't worry; I have ways of making you tell me. The man I'm looking for is Sasuke Uchiha. He's a crucial part in my plan. Do you happen to know him?" asked Orochimaru, the threat evident in his voice.

At this point the other three of Dana's group had arrived at the scene. They all gasped as they saw who Dana was talking to.

"What do you want with Sasuke? And what 'plan' are you talking about if you don't mind me asking? 'Cause I think I know who you're talking about." replied Dana with a smirk. Dana had quite a load of experience when speaking with…lets just call them 'evil bastards.'

As Kakashi listened to their conversation, he wondered why Orochimaru didn't attack them. Then he realized, Orochimaru was so focused on Dana that he didn't sense their chakra signals. He looked at Sasuke and Naruto, they both noticed the importance of the situation; they had to keep out of sight of Orochimaru would attack them and it would all be over for Dana. He wouldn't need Dana anymore if he found his target.

"It is none of your concern of what I want Sasuke for. He is what I need, that all _you_ need to know. Now, where is he!" hissed Orochimaru.

Dana clapped her hands innocently, making it seem as if she was bored. She then took a step closer to the dangerous man. She reached up o his ear and hissed in the same tone as Orochimaru's voice; "You'll never get him while I'm here."

Orochimaru involuntarily flinched when he noticed a glowing light on his stomach. He looked quickly towards Dana's face and saw a smirk. Suddenly, his vision blurred and he was forced to back up.

Dana moved back as well as her hands moved towards the ground and began to glow. She created a spear and rose up out of the ground. _Is that some kind of new jutsu,_ thought Orochimaru, _it sure as hell couldn't have been anything else._

Naruto and Sasuke were both thinking the same thing; it could only be a new jutsu, one they have never seen before.

Kakashi, on the other hand already knew about her powers for the Hokage. He knew about the thing called alchemy; in other places where most ninjas didn't go he had learned of it, though he didn't know how to use it.

Dana didn't realize they were watching her little show until she sensed their faint auras. She knew Naruto and Sasuke were amazed by her 'powers' but she knew if she could sense them, so could Orochimaru. She had to hurry.

While Dana was making up her mind, Orochimaru noticed the audience they had. He decided in that instant to attack.

Dana looked up from the ground as she saw Orochimaru's head speeding toward her. "Holy shit!' she muttered as she barely dogged the head, but the she saw where he was really heading; Sasuke.

She grabbed his neck in order to choke him…he stopped reaching. "Bad idea, silly girl." He hissed.

_Try me._ She thought and tightened her grip.

The man turned his head to wrap his neck around the girl's body. He snapped towards her at top speed. But her teacher taught her well.

Dana jumped and dodged the attack.

_Woh! She's good!_ Naruto thought, dieing to help her, but being restrained by Kakashi.

Dana humped into Orochimaru's neck and landed with all her might. _Am I supposed to kill him? I don't know anything about…_ she thought and smiled. She wrapped her legs around the man and threw her spear away from them. She clapped her hands again.

"What the…" Orochimaru muttered when he saw the blue light.

Suddenly, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto heard a blood-curdling scream.

"Dana!" Sasuke shouted as he saw both Orochimaru and Dana fall. Thankfully, when they fell, Dana was superjacent to Orochimaru. The group rushed over to the two fallen people. When they came closer, they realized that Dana was shaking violently. "Kakashi-sensei…what's wrong with Dana?" Sasuke asked frightened.

Kakashi moved closer to Dana and crouched next to her. He moved to touch the girl's forehead, but found himself prevented by an electric field. He fell back, away from Dana. "What the fuck?" he muttered.

"What is it, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said attentively.

Kakashi just blinked. _This is dangerous…Dana shouldn't have put herself in this position…we could have…no…we couldn't have handled him…_ he sat thinking in awe.

Dana coughed. "Dana? Are you okay? Can you hear me? Dana…" Kakashi said, moving back towards her.

"That…that man…who is he?" she said, sitting up and saying weakly. Her head was throbbing from the transmutation that she just did.

Kakashi explained that Orochimaru is one of the deadliest beings on the face of the earth. "I say 'being' because he has more skills and strength than any human." He said.

_Well, he's defiantly not a homunculus…that's for sure…homunculi don't have a mind of their own…so I can't learn anything from reading their minds. But this man is different…_ she thought.

"How come he's not waking up…but you did? What happened?" Naruto asked.

"He's gunna wake up soon…like right now…you goys get away just incase." She said with a little urgency in her voice when noticing that Orochimaru was starting to stir. She got up and tried to show that she wasn't hurt.

"Let me take care of this!" Naruto said, acting like a big shot.

Dana gave him an uncertain look. "Let me just do it real quick, Naruto. But I appreciate your effort!" she said, moving her right arm to see if anything was wrong.

Naruto pouted, but didn't argue. The three guys started talking amongst themselves.

Dana went over to the half-conscious body and placed her hands on the man's forehead. This time, a red glow shown instead of a blue one. Orochimaru stopped stirring immediately. Next Dana sat down next to the now unconscious man and saw to her leg wound. Luckily, it was just a deep gash and didn't need too much attention. But Dana's head was still throbbing, and was going to throb endlessly for a few more hours. She needed to go through the knowledge that she just learned from Orochimaru, and that was going to take a while. _What the hell is the difference between nin-jutsu and tai-jutsu?_ She thought.

Sasuke turned to see Dana quickly healing herself. HE walked over to her and crouched beside her. "You okay?" he asked flatly.

"Yeah, my head hurts, but I'll be fine. What are we supposed to do about this guy?" she said. By now, Kakashi and Naruto were over by Dana and Sasuke too.

"I think we should bring him to the Hokage. He should know what to do with Orochimaru." Kakashi said. Naruto agreed. "How long can you keep him unconscious for?" he asked Dana as she rolled down her pant leg.

"For as long as you want." She said simply.

"Are you sure we should bring him to the village? He could get loose there." Sasuke asked Kakashi.

"Yeah. The other two Sannin are there…so there's nothing to worry about." Kakashi answered.

"Oh…Okay." The Uchiha said.

"So…who's going to carry him?" Naruto said, not wanting the job.

"I'll do it…but I'll need someone to carry my pack." Kakashi said.

"I'll carry it." Dana said, standing up.

"No. You've done enough already…in fact, if you used chakra, our source of energy, then someone would need to carry you. But really, you should relax a little bit. Sasuke, why don't you carry it." Kakashi said. Sasuke nodded. "Well then, lets get going." He said, walking over to the unconscious man.

_That Winry girl was right. It's almost three o'clock and we still aren't hungry._ Sasuke thought while putting on the extra weight from Kakashi.

That night, after they made camp, Dana knocked out Orochimaru again. "I'll find something to eat if you guys set up the fire." The girl said.

"Alright, be back in twenty minutes. There's a fiver ahead if I recall correctly. Go get some fish." Kakashi said while moving Orochimaru's unconscious body.

"Alright. Be right back."

"I'll come with you." Sasuke said.

"Okay, c'mon then." Dana said happily.

After finding the river, Dana asked: "Can you see well at night?"

"Yeah…what about you?" he asked, hands in his pockets.

"Crystal clear. So how do you want to do this? 'Cause I don't wanna act like I'm in charge or anything."

_Yet another point as the why I love her._ Sasuke thought and smiled to himself. "Well, I can through kuni…I mean knifes around well, so if you're willing to jump into the river and scare the fish, I'd hit them at a nearby tree."

"Sounds like a plan. How many of these kuni-knife thingies do you have?"

"Twenty." He said, pulling out his first one. _Holy shit! Now I get to see her wet!_ He thought. (A/N: yes folks, I'm sorry to say but I think Sasuke has a slightly dirty mind in this story…but only slightly! I think he'll be able to "control" himself when the time comes!)

A minute later the two caught four fish. "Hey, how many do you think we should get?" Dana called to Sasuke.

"I'd say two for each. I know Naruto can eat ten of them if he was allowed."

"Okay. Get ready, another one's coming." She said, and dived under again. _Thank Kami this slip is waterproof. My arm would be completely shown if it wasn't for this thing._ She thought while clapping to shock the fish. Five jumped up. She stayed in the water for a few more moments to wait for Sasuke to finish hitting them. When she got out of the water Sasuke was already pulling the fish out of a nearby tree. "Sasuke, I'll be right back. I'm going to go dry off. Stay right here."

"Alright." He said. _I shouldn't watch her…that's something Kakashi would do…I'm not like that._ He thought to himself as he continued to pull the fish out.

"'K. C'mon, I found some herbs for the fish, so lets go before they start to smell." Dana said, coming out of the brush dry. Sasuke got up quietly, grabbed the nine fish and hopped across the river. "Why don't you hand me one fish at a time for me to season." She offered. Sasuke quietly gave her the first fish. "Hey…you okay? You're kinda quiet."

"Yeah. I'm fine. Tell me when you want the next one."

"Okay…can I have the next one then?" she asked, deciding not to get into his business. She fused another herb into another fish. "Well…this is n awkward silence in my perspective." She said jokingly. Sasuke smiled. _At least I got a smile out of him._ She thought. "Not to sound like I'm crushing on you or anything, but you're much cuter when you smile." She said warmly.

"Yeah, well, not much in my life is or has ever been funny." He said, handing her another fish.

"Why is that, if you don't mind me asking."

"Family issues." He said bluntly.

_Closed topic I guess…_ she thought. "Yeah, I had some family issues too. I guess you can say I had the worst night of my life when I was younger." She said, her hand waiting for another fish.

Sasuke gave her another one. "Same here. What's your story?"

"I'd rather not talk about it…but I'd be more than happy to listen to your story if you want to tell me."

"Let's just say I'm going to train until I can beat a certain someone." He said.

"Well, can I take a guess at what might have happened? Just one guess?"

"Only if I can do the same thing for yours."

"Fine…does it have to do with any m…you know what…lets just forget about this entire conversation…" she said, realizing where it would go.

"Too late…we already started…Dana?" he said, realizing that Dana stopped dead in her tracks. She was staring at him as if he was an alien.

She looked away. _It was just an accident…he didn't mean to say that…he doesn't know… _She thought and closed her eyes. _Becca…_

"Dana…you okay?" he asked, touching her shoulder.

She flinched at the touch. "Y…yeah…I'm fine…let's go." She said, trying to cover up the slight tears forming. They came into the campsite and Dana realized that Sasuke still had his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey who wants fish?" she asked, pushing Sasuke's hand off softly.

"Come on over before they spoil." Kakashi said. He cooked the fish and asked: "Who's having three fish?"

"I will!" Naruto said happily.

And so they ate.

"Okay, so you guys want to that shifts taking watch?" Kakashi asked.

"If you want, I'll put a barrier around the camp site. That way we can all have a good night sleep." Dana said.

"Sure, that'd be great!" Kakashi said.

"Okay, so tell me when, 'cause once I put it up, you can't get out until I take down the whole thing. Want me to go fill your canteens?"

The group gave her their canteens and she went off to fill them. When she was coming back, she noticed a small storm was forming.

"We should get some shut eye. I'll set up the barrio." She said. After finding a stick, she drew the transmutation circle, stepping inside of it before finishing it.

Dana went onto her knees, closed her eyes, clapped her hands and put them down on the lining of the circle. A small phenomenon occurred.

The ninja's stood in awe watching the colors arise from the circle in the ground that Dana drew. The colors formed a dome above their heads. Dana clapped her hands once more, this time touching the beautiful display of colors and turned them clear. "And we're done!" she said.

"What was that?" Naruto asked, still stunned.

"It was alchemy. You can still see the colors if you look close enough. Now lets get some sleep." She answered. "Oh, and don't touch the barrier or else." She added.

"Or else what?" Sasuke asked.

"Or else you'll be paralyzed really badly…putting it lightly…" she said, sliding a glance over at Kakashi. He smiled.

"Okay then! Do touching the barrier…got it…lets get some sleep!" Kakashi said.

Sasuke put his sleeping bag next to Dana's and then came Kakashi's, then Naruto's. Everyone was asleep in moments, but only Sasuke lay awake simply thinking and watching Dana. She turned to face him on her side, and Sasuke got butterflies in his stomach. _I'll speak with Iruka-sensei when we get back…he'll know what to do…_ he thought and shut his eye's to sleep.

The Next Morning 

"Sasuke. Sasuke, wake up." He heard. Someone was shaking him gently.

"I'm up." He said with his eyes closed.

"Sasuke…I need to talk to you." Dana said, sitting cross-legged a few inches from Sasuke.

"What's up, Dana?" he said, sitting up. It was almost dawn and the rest of the group would be up soon.

"Well, remember when I was fighting with Orochimaru and I screamed when we fell?" she asked. Sasuke nodded. "Well, I learned things from him when that happened…things that I don't understand. And I need to talk to you about them."

"What do you mean 'you learned things from him'? What kind of things?" he asked. He could tell Dana was struggling with this. "What is it, Dana? What's wrong?"

"I…I don't know how to explain this…" she said. Then her emotion changed from confused to serious. Sasuke could tell from for face. "Sasuke. Can you keep a promise?"


	6. Welcome

**Chapter 6: Welcome**

The next day the group reached the village. Kakashi spoke with one of the guards and told him to send for the Hokage. While he was doing that, the rest of the group was talking amongst themselves. "As soon as you get settled we'll take you to meet Sakura. I think you two will get along great." Naruto said. He went closer to Dana and whispered: "She has the biggest crush on me. But don't tell her I know." in her ear. Dana nodded and smiled.

"Alright everyone lets go in. Sasuke, Naruto, you two can go home now. Meet back up tomorrow at the usual time and tell Sakura to come. Dana, I'm going to show you where you'll be living for a while." Kakashi said as he walked toward the group. He wasn't carrying Orochimaru anymore.

"See ya, Dana." Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded and locked eyes with Dana for a moment then left. _I won't forget that promise, Dana, don't worry._ He thought while walking back to his home.

"Sasuke! Hey, Sasuke, wait up!" he heard someone call. It was Sakura.

"Meet us tomorrow at the training spot tomorrow at the regular time. I have to go." Sasuke said and turned around and went into his home. _I really hope Dana doesn't try to set Sakura and me up. I know she likes me, but I don't like her that way. I should go ask Iruka for any ideas._ He thought.

**With Dana**

"So, this is your apartment, you have your keys, and if you have any questions, my apartment is upstairs a floor, room 68B. You are to meet Iruka at the gazebo in the park. Use the map I gave you to find anything you need." Kakashi said, and walked towards the door. "Oh, and one more thing. Be sure to meet us at the old training grounds at seven o'clock sharp. Tardiness will not be accepted. Be there or face the consequences. Not to scare you or anything." he said, his last remark on a much lighter note than his previous ones.

"Okay, thank you, Kakashi." Dana said, and opened the door for him. He walked out and she closed the door. Sighing, she took out her map. "Alright. Where's this gazebo?" she said, looking at her map. "Well, here's the park, but no gazebo…Might as well ask Kakashi. And the old training grounds, where are those?...well, that's funny. They're right next to the hospital. That's kind of ironically funny." she said as she put her coat on to go ask Kakashi where the gazebo was.

She knocked on the door of apartment 68B and it was immediately answered. "What's up, Dana?" Kakashi asked.

"I was wondering if you could show me where in the park I would find the gazebo. It's not on the map that you gave me."

"Oh, it's not? I think it was. May I see that map?" he asked. Dana gave him the map without a comment. "Come in. there's no use in standing out in the cold." He said, moving out of the way to let Dana in.

Kakashi put the map of his table and opened it up. "Well, I guess I've been proven wrong. It's right around here, by the west entrance. Is that all?" he said while folding up the map.

"That's about it for now. Thanks. See you tomorrow at seven o'clock. Oh, how's Orochimaru?"

"He's in good hands now. Goodbye, Dana." He said as she left.

Dana hopped down the stairs and got to the west entrance in no time. Once in the park, she made a left and walked to the gazebo ahead of her. In the gazebo she saw a man in a similar uniform to Kakashi's.

"Hello, my name's Iruka, what's your name?" he said when Dana stepped into the gazebo. He offered a hand shake and Dana responded kindly.

"Hi, I'm Dana. I believe you were expecting me. The Hokage told me that you would be my teacher…Am I right?" she said, letting go of his hand as to not hurt him with her automail.

_Strong grip. She's going to be fun to teach, Kakashi._ He thought. "Well for the most part. I'm only going to be teaching you the basics. Have you ever met Kakashi?"

"Yes, actually he and his group were the ones who brought me here."

"All right, so he will be your real teacher. I have a quick question."

"Ask away, Iruka. Or should I call you something else? You should be the one asking the questions right now, I'm sorry." Dana said, stumbling over her words.

"Don't worry about it. Call me Iruka sensei if you want." He said kindly. "But here's my question: Have you heard anything about Orochimaru? I think I heard that he was brought to Lord Hokage unconscious."

"Yes, actually, when Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto and I were coming here he came up and we basically knocked him out. And the rest is history." She said.

"But I heard that you were the one who knocked him out…am I right?"

"Yeah. How do you know all of this?"

"A friend told me." He said, secretly referring to Sasuke.

"Well, I don't want to take credit for all of it. If it wasn't for Kakashi, Orochimaru wouldn't have been brought here. He's probably too heavy for me. And Sasuke carried Kakashi's pack, so he played a role in it as well. So it wasn't all my doing." Dana said.

"Oh, well I didn't here that part of the story."

"Yeah, I don't know if you would have. Oh, also, I know I'm probably asking for a lot right now, but would I be able to meet with the Hokage? I think I have some information for him to know."

"Does this 'information' have to do with Orochimaru by any chance?"

"Yeah, but I don't really know who I really should tell, so I guessed that I should talk with the Hokage."

"Yes, that would be a good idea. Come, we can walk to where he should be right about now." Iruka said, getting up from where they were sitting. Dana did the same. _Well I must say, Sasuke. You do have a good taste in women. You probably get that from your father._ Iruka thought.

"So what will you be teaching me, Iruka sensei?" he heard the girl say.

"Well, for starters, I'll teach you about your inner chakra, how to control it, and how to use it to your advantage. Then I suppose you should learn how to mask it, kind of like making yourself invisible. And so on from there." He said.

"Okay. So I know this seems awkward, but before we start learning about my chakra, I'd like to learn a little about you. I guess I like to know a little bit about who I'm working with. So…any family?"

"My parents died fifteen years ago protecting this village. But I'm hoping to be engaged soon."

"Oh, did you propose yet?" Dana asked.

"No, but tonight's the night."

"Oh that's great. The best of luck to you both." (A/N: gee…when did Dana get that mature?...no comment to that…)

"Thanks. And what about you? Any family?" Iruka asked.

"No, I live with two of my best friends."

"Oh, I'm sorry for asking."

"Oh, no problem. Don't worry about it." Dana said.

"Okay…well just follow me and well get to the Hokage real soon. I found a short cut a while back." He said, and sure enough, they were knocking on the Hokage's door within seconds.

"Come in." they heard and let themselves in. "Iruka, what brings you here?" said an old man sitting behind a desk. He had a kind face that glowed with love. Iruka bowed and Dana followed his example.

"Lord Hokage, may I present Dana West, the girl who brought down Orochimaru. She has some information that she believes will be to your benefit." Iruka said.

"Ah. So this is the famous Dana West. Come in. I must speak with you. Iruka, would you mind waiting outside the room while I speak with Ms. West alone?"

"Not at all, Lord Hokage. Good bye." Iruka said, and then left the room.

When the door closed, Sarutobi began to speak with Dana. (A/N: for those who don't know, that's the third Hokage's name.) "Now, Ms. West, what is it that you want to tell me about Orochimaru? You may be completely honest with me."

"If I'm to be completely honest with you, then I must tell you that I don't understand the things I have learned from this man that you call Orochimaru."

"Well that's only to be expected, Dana. You have no training in the art of the art of the ninja, so I wouldn't expect you to understand most of what Orochimaru understands. Please, tell me what you learned from him, in the best way you can."

"Well, that's just it, I can't really explain it. I would offer to transfer the memories, but I don't know how comfortable you are with that." Dana said, noticing that this conversation hasn't actually gone anywhere.

The Hokage nodded kindly. "What is this memory transfer? Is it alchemy?"

"Yes, it's just a way for me to show you everything I learned, during a certain amount of time. If you wouldn't mind just following a few simple instructions, I could transfer them to you."

"Just tell me what you want me to do and I will follow your orders."

"Okay, so if you wouldn't mind sitting on your knees and try to meditate. This is for safety purposes obviously." She said as Sarutobi got up to follow her instructions. When he was sitting in the middle of the room, Dana went over to him and sat directly in front of him. She looked at his aging face. _He's so calm even though he's the one controlling this huge village. I envy him for that trait._ She thought.

She then closed her eyes as well and meditated for a moment. Next she clapped her hands quietly and put her palms to her forehead. Dana's eyes were shut throughout the entire time. After staying in that position for a minute, she slowly moved her hands away from her own head and towards the Hokage's while feeling every memory that she received from Orochimaru with them. She felt her fingers touch the aging skin of the old man and felt every last piece of knowledge leave her.

The third Hokage felt these memories hit him like a block of led. It seemed to him as if all the knowledge in the world was being poured into his head all at once. (A/N: like in that Full Metal Alchemist episode) He learned his former student's secrets, his plans for Sasuke, his numerous jutsus. Sarutobi learned of Orochimaru's hatred for the leaf village and of his tortured past. He saw everything that the wicked man ever learned and did.

Suddenly, the rush stopped. The Hokage's vision cleared as he slowly opened his eyes to find Dana with her eyes closed tightly, as if in pain. Then he saw her open her eyes as well, as if she too were curing herself from a head rush. "Intense, right?" he heard the girl say. He nodded silently.

"If you would like, I could stay here and control Orochimaru with alchemy. Up to a certain extent of course." She added.

"No, I don't think you will be needed. We too have our ways of manipulating people. But your offer is definitely appreciated. Now go and be taught be Iruka, you have quite a lot to learn. Thank you again for this information." The Hokage said kindly. Getting up from his current position, he led Dana to the door. "Good bye, Dana. I hope to hear of your improvement in understanding the way of the ninja."

"Thank you very much, sir. Have a good day." Dana said, giving a kind nod in respect to her elder. When she left the room, she noticed Iruka sitting on a bench to the right of the room.

"Well, how did it go?" Iruka asked.

"Very well. I don't want to act like a weakling, but am I going to start learning today? Because I just did a really hard procedure and I'm a little exhausted from it. Maybe we can meet up later? What time is good for you? Because I know that today's the day and all." She asked as they started walking away from the Hokage's mansion.

"Nothing to worry about." He said chuckling kindly. "How about if we just meet up tomorrow around eight o'clock in the morning?"

"Um…Is it okay if I might be a little late? Because I told Kakashi that I would meet him and his group at the old training grounds at seven o'clock sharp. So I don't really know when I'll be finished with that." She asked. Iruka nodded silently. "I'm sorry…this must be really frustrating for you. I can ask someone else to teach me if you're too busy. I feel horrible about all of this." She said.

"Don't worry about it. I'll have a talk with Kakashi tonight and see how long he is planning to keep you. We can start your training on the old training grounds as well. Well, you're living here, aren't you?" he asked. They were now standing in front of her apartment building.

"Yeah, well it was great meeting you. I hope everything goes well tonight. See you tomorrow." She said, waving goodbye.

"Good bye, Dana. And thanks!" Iruka said and he was gone.

Once in her room, Dana dropped down on her bed and fell into a deep sleep…a very deep sleep.

**Dana's Dream**

"_It was him Dana…it was him." The innocent voice said to me._

"_Who…who is that…where am I?" I said frantically._

"_Open your eyes, Dana. Open your eyes. See the man who brought you here." I hear again. The voice is the one of a girl, and it is faint. As if under water, the child's voice is almost muffled, but just enough for me to understand her._

"_Who will I see?" I ask, but I have no choice. My eyes are forced open and they sting with the heat of the flame before me. I see people. I see a child laying on the wooden floor, not a day older than five or six. Yes, the child is six years old, but small for her size. And I see a woman, also laying on the floor, with long, silky, brown hair laying limp by her side. Their faces are not towards me, but I know they're both unconscious. _

_And I see two more people. A man, tied up to a wooden chair near the flames, looking down at the two females miserably. Misery. That's all that I can see in him. That's all that he portrays to me. And someone else. Someone is standing behind him. Someone dangerous. I am intimidated by him. His red eyes glisten in the light of the flames. He shows no emotions as he looks at me…slowly._

**End of Dream**

Dana shoots up out of bed, her heart pounding violently. She hears someone knocking on her door, but she doesn't pay them any attention. She stumbles over to her bathroom and recklessly washes her face. Then, she looks up at herself in the mirror.

"What…was that?" she asks her reflection.

She hears the door again. Taking a deep breath, she walked over and opens it. Seeing Sasuke and Naruto at the door makes reality settle back in. "Hey you guys, what's up? Come in." she says, clearing the doorway for her two friends.

"Hey Dana, we were wondering if you wanted to have some dinner with us. There's the best ramen shop in the world down the street from here." Naruto said happily.

Dana blinked at his happiness. "Sure, that sounds great. Let me get some money real quick." She said.

"Dinner's on me." Sasuke said coolly. Both Naruto and Dana were surprised

"Oh! That's great! Thanks Sasuke." She said.

"Yeah, thanks a bunch!" Naruto said, and they left Dana's apartment.

"Hey, Sasuke. You wanna show her around the town a little after we eat?" Naruto whispered.

"Sure, whatever." Sasuke said, trying to keep his act together now that Dana was around. He really did want to show Dana around, but he wanted to show it to her alone.

In a few minutes, they were eating happily. "So Dana, how about we show you around a little after this?" Naruto asked.

"That would be fun. Hey, do you guys know what we're going to do at the old training grounds tomorrow?" she asked.

"Kakashi-sensei's probably going to give you the bell torture." Sasuke said. Naruto choked on some broth as Sasuke said that.

"Please" cough "please don't remind me of that day?"

"That's making me a little nervous…what is this bell torture?" Dana asked.

"You basically have to get this little bell from his belt. But the trick is teamwork. 'Win as one or loose as one, you're still a team' he Kakashi-sensei said." Sasuke said.

"Oh, okay…I think I can handle that." She said, hoping that she was right.

"Well, we'll see tomorrow. Come on, let's go." Naruto said, pushing his ramen in front of him.

Dana followed his example. "I'll pay you back tomorrow, Sasuke. Thanks for dinner." She said.

"I said I'd pay for it, didn't I? Don't worry about it." he replied.

"Fine. Then the next time we all go on, it's on me." She said.

"Put it on the Uchiha card, please." He said to the new worker behind the counter. He nodded silently.

"So, where are you guys taking me?" she asked as they got up.

"You wanna take her to the old training grounds?" Naruto asked Sasuke. Sasuke shrugged. "I'll take that as a yes." The blond said.

It took them a few minutes to get to the grounds.

"Wow. It's so beautiful out here!" Dana said, fascinated.

"What's so good about it?" Naruto asked stupidly.

"The stars are amazing! I haven't seen anything like this in a long time." She said, looking up with her hands behind her head.

"Yeah, I guess it's pretty cool." Naruto said.

The three sat down on the dry cement in the center on the grounds and started star gazing. "So, what's up between you and this Ed guy?" the blond asked.

Dana blushed, although her friends couldn't see it. "What do you mean?"

"You know…o you like him or something?" the blond said. Sasuke was eager to hear her answer.

"No, we're just friends. I have my eye on someone else." She said, trying hard not to show that she was lying.

Sasuke was exploding inside. _Maybe she's interested in me!_ (A/N: I feel so evil now!!! I'm sorry!!!) "Who?" he asked coolly which was very difficult for him.

"Not telling! Sorry." She said in a way that you could tell that she was smiling.

"I don't know. You guys ask the questions."

"Well…what's Ed like?" Naruto asked.

"Why the sudden interest in Ed?" she asked curiously.

"Just wondering, I guess 'cause you live with him." _And because you refuse to talk about yourself. You and him are probably kinda similar._

Dana sighed. "Well, he's defiantly an idiot…he always gets into a lot of fights and always comes home a mess. I guess that's where my mother's influence comes in. But you can always count on him to watch your back…that's for sure." She laughed. "I remember we were on a mission once and I would've been killed if it wasn't for him…of course, I wasn't paying attention 'cause I was focusing on someone else…but the point is that he's really good at that kind of stuff."

_So you must be like that too._ Sasuke thought. "What else?"

"You're interested too now?" Dana asked. She sighed. "Well, we always went stargazing, just like we are now. And it was always at Winry's house 'cause she lives in the country where you can even see the Milky Way. Ed, Al, Winry and I would go out right after dinner and watch the stars come out. In the summer we would sometimes fall asleep outside because we just had no sense of time."

She paused for a moment. "I remember once, El Al and I just got to Winry's house, and we were really tired, but we still went star gazing anyway. And I guess while we were out there I fell asleep, because the next morning I woke up in Ed's bed, and he was sleeping on the couch downstairs. So I guess you can say he's caring as well. He and Al are like my brothers. They're both so wonderful and they opened my heart up so much…I'm sorry…I must be boring the crap out of you two." She said.

Dana looked over to her left to find Naruto fast asleep. She sighed. _You over did it again, Dana. Way to go._ She thought. "You awake, Sasuke?"

"Yeah, let me come over to you." He said, getting up to move to the other side of Dana, rather than staying next to Naruto. (A/N: meaning that Naruto was in the middle and Dana and Sasuke were on opposite sides.)

When he lay back down again, this time next to Dana, he said: "So what else…you said that they opened your heart…what were you like before you met them?"

Dana took a deep breath. "Well, I was really depressed…I couldn't sleep for weeks at a time, and I didn't really talk to anyone. But they helped me to heal my wounds…if you know what I mean."

"Yeah…wounds of the heart are always the hardest to heal. I would know." Sasuke agreed. (A/N: O.O.C. SORRY…I know…I know I'm interrupting a lot…)

"Same…well, I guess we should take Naruto home…Thanks for bringing me here and for dinner again…it was really fun…even though I talked a lot…" she said as the two of them got up from the cement.

Sasuke smiled at this. "Come on…I'll show you where Naruto's house is."

"Okay…" she said, crouching down to pick Naruto up. She put him on her back and looked up at the moon/starlit Sasuke Uchiha and said: "Well…shall we?"

After about ten minutes, they were inside Naruto's room, laying him down gently. "I guess I should write him a letter so he doesn't freak out tomorrow morning." She said, finding a pen and a piece of paper "want me to put your name in?"

"I don't' really care."

"Okay…if you say so…I won't."

Dear Naruto,

Thanks for everything last night! It was so fun. Don't get too freaked out as to why you're waking up in your bed because Sasuke brought me over here to drop you off…we obviously decided not to wake you up. Hope you had a great night sleep! See you soon!

Dana West and Sasuke Uchiha (even though Sasuke didn't want me to put his name down…)

She wrote. "Okay…lets go." She said and the two walked out the door quietly.

In another five minutes, they were at Dana's door. "Thanks so much for tonight…I know I sound like a broken record, but it's nice to feel welcomed in a new town. I'll see you tomorrow bright and early!"

"See you tomorrow, Dana." He said, and walked home smiling.


	7. Fight! Fight! Fight!

**Chapter 7: Fight! Fight! Fight!**

"BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEE…"the alarm clock shouted. Dana hit the off button drowsily. _What a night! Ugh. I'm not liking this Orochimaru guy more and more. Even after the memory transfer I still get the same side effects as if I didn't remove those memories at all! Well, at least it's only one night's nightmare._ Dana thought while slowly getting out of bed. She groaned sleepily. "I was at least hoping to get some sort of a break. I just got back from last mission and now I'm going through training again? Well, better grin and bear it!" She said to herself while walking to her bathroom to freshen up. She threw her clothes and jacket on and was out of her apartment by 6:30.

Walking down the street to get to the old training grounds, she found herself thinking about Ed again. _I wonder what he's gunna do today. _She thought then laughed quietly. _Probably going to find Sczesca and press her for anymore books on the stone. That, or complain about some new mission he's on._ She watched her breath steam as it hit the cool December air.

She heard her stomach growl. _Well, might as well make up your mind, Dana. Eat and be late, or drink some snow when you get there…Well, that's an obvious choice. I can tell Kakashi doesn't like it when someone's late._ Inner Dana said to herself. (A/N: Yes, folks, I advise you all NOT to eat any snow that has already touched the ground. Dana is allowed because she's a skilled alchemist, and also because this is a story that I'm writing…so…yeah…just don't eat fallen snow in real life…it's not that good for you…in my opinion…back to the story…I'm shutting up now…)

Dana was turned the corner and accidentally ran into a girl with pink hair. "Oh, I'm sorry, are you alright?" she asked the girl.

Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. What are you doing out this early in the morning?" the girl said.

"I have to meet some people. What about you? Most people are still in bed at this hour, right?"

"Yeah, well, I have to meet some people too. Where are you heading?"

"To the old training grounds. You?"

"Same! I'm Sakura Haruno. What's your name? I don't think we've met."

"Dana West, it's great to meet you, Sakura." Dana said, offering a handshake, which Sakura took kindly. "You want to walk together?" she offered. (A/N: AWKWARD MUCH?)

"Sure, I wonder if we're meeting the same people."

"Maybe, who are you going to see?" Dana asked. The two girls were already walking towards the training grounds.

"My squad. You?"

"I'm meeting Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Kakashi Hatake."

"Are you serious!?! That's my squad! Well, except for Kakashi-sensei… he's obviously our teacher. But, how do you know them?"

"They picked me up the day before yesterday and brought me here."

_So that's the mission they went on._ Sakura thought.

"Wait, if you're in their squad, then where were you when they came to pick me up?"

"Oh, I was sick. But I'm better now. So, how do you like the group?" Sakura asked.

"They're fun. Do Sasuke and Naruto get along? They don't seem to talk to each other that much."

"Sasuke and Naruto? Well, putting it lightly, they're rivals. But they deal with each other. So, do you like Sasuke?"

"What do you mean by that? I think of him as a friend, if that's what you mean. Why do you ask?"

"Well, that's hard to say… Can I be completely honest with you?" (A/N: AWKWARD AGAIN!)

"Yeah, I won't tell a soul if you don't want me to."

"Well, I have a huge crush on Sasuke. I've liked him ever since…8th grade. And we've worked together for a while now."

_Wait…Naruto said that Sakura had a huge crush on him…wow…that's ironically funny!_ Dana thought. "And do you think he likes you back?" she asked. Sakura looked down hopelessly.

"Well…when we first started working together, he didn't like me what so ever…but now, I'm not so sure. Is that Naruto over there?" she asked after seeing an orange figure off in the distance.

"Probably. You want to go meet up with him?"

"Um…Let's let him come to us. We're not so close, Naruto and I."

"Why's that?"

"Well, you've seen him, haven't you? He's so annoying! He drives me insane." Sakura said. Dana laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Just that if you think Naruto is annoying, then you should see the guy I live with."

"Oh, gosh, I don't want to know…wait…you live with a guy?"

"Yeah, don't ask how that came to be…it's a long story." She said as Naruto approached the two girls. "Hey, Naruto. How'd you sleep?"

"Great, I saw your note. Thanks." The blond said.

Sakura gave Dana a questioning look. "I dropped him off at his home last night. Nothing to worry about." Dana explained, giving Sakura a kind smile. "Is that Sasuke over there?" Dana asked when she saw a dark figure walking towards them.

"Yeah!" Sakura said when she saw him. "Hey, Sasuke! Over here!" Sakura called.

Dana held the urge to laugh. _Wow she's desperate…can I even try to help her? _She thought. "Hey, Sasuke. What's up?" she said when he came closer to the group. He shrugged. _Oh, shit! Does he like her!!!! That's so exciting! I'll ask him later._ She thought smiling.

_Wonder what Dana's thinking about._ Sasuke thought and looked down at the ground.

"So…this is a great conversation…" Dana said after a few moments of awkward silences.

"Yeah. Kakashi-sensei is usually late. What time is it anyway?" Naruto said.

"It's a quarter after seven." Sakura answered, looking at her watch.

POOF

"Yo." Kakashi said when the smoke cleared.

"Your late." The group said in unison.

Kakashi shrugged. "So, I see you already met Dana, Sakura. Now that that's over with, let's begin."

"What're we gunna do?" Naruto asked.

"We're going to work with the bells again, Naruto. Think of it as an introduction for Dana." Kakashi said, taking out three bells from his pocket. All four "students" head dropped. Kakashi explained the rules of the "game".

"Wait, there are three bells…one of us wouldn't get a one. What do you intend by that?" Dana asked.

"That's the trick."

_Well, if I was on a mission, and one of us would stay behind…I wouldn't volunteer anyone…DUH DANA, VOLUNTEER YOURSELF!_ "I volunteer myself to not get a bell." Dana said.

Kakashi's eyebrows rose. "Well then you'll just have to stay behind and fight. You three may go." He said.

"What! Really! Thanks' Kakashi-sensei! See ya later, Dana!" Naruto said and started walking towards the exit.

"But, sensei, this is a team work exercise…Why are you letting us go?" Sakura asked.

"Because Dana already showed team work by letting all of you get the bells and not herself. Now go warm up, Sakura." Kakashi said.

"Okay…well…I'll see you later, Dana." The pink haired girl said.

"See ya." Dana replied and smiled at her new friend.

Dana heard Kakashi clear his throat as Sasuke and Sakura left them. She turned to face him.

"Alright, well, Sakura was right; this exercise really is about team work. Normally I wouldn't have accepted your proposal. But part of my mission is to find out more about you for the Hokage…So, shall we?" Kakashi said. (A/N: O.O.C…I'm sorry…)

Dana smiled. "You make the first move." She said, stepping into her fighting stance.

with the rest of the group

"Hey, you coming, Sasuke?" Sakura asked as the group reached the entrance/exit of the training grounds.

"No. I'll see you two later." Sasuke said, while going to lean on the gate next to him.

"Oh…okay…well, I'll see you later." The girl said, slightly disappointed.

"Later, Sasuke." Naruto said.

After they left, Sasuke could see that Dana and Kakashi were already fighting. _This should be interesting…_ He thought.

with Dana

_Hold nothing back…that's what he said…but I can't kill him…shit! Where'd he go?_ Dana thought, noticing that Kakashi wasn't where she thought he was.

"Behind you." He said into her ear. She felt a sharp object touch her lower back. Immediately, she dropped to kick his shins. "Too slow." He said. She clapped her hands in order to create a circle, but Kakashi caught her off balance and she ended up not being able to finish the circle.

Dana looked around again and found that she was having trouble seeing where Kakashi was. The silver haired man wasn't in sight again. "Am I really that slow, Kakashi? Come at me from any direction!" she called out to where ever Kakashi was.

with Sasuke

"Come at me from any direction. I didn't want to get too serious, but I have no choice!" he heard the girl shout when Kakashi disappeared.

_She has no idea what she's getting herself into…or…does she? With the fight with Orochimaru…SHIT! Kakashi's the one who doesn't know what he's getting into!_ Sasuke thought.

with Dana

She heard something. Was it a bird? No…it sounds like more than one bird…as there was thousands of birds…chirping. _What the hell? Hardly any birds stay through the winter around here…most of them migrate south…what's that…that light? All this snow is making it hard to see. Change of color might do well…_ She thought and bit her thumb to make it bleed a little. Dana then clapped her hands and placed them on the snowy ground from white to dark red. _There…that's better. Now what is that thing?_ She thought while trying to track down that "bird-sounding-white thing".

with Kakashi

_Interesting...will I need to use the sharingan on her?_ He thought as he finished his chidori. He started running down the tree while dragging his arm.

with Dana

_There he is…and here we go!_ Dana thought, smiling when she saw Kakashi running towards her. But what she didn't expect was something behind her, ready to spring.

with Sasuke

"Shit!" he muttered. _He's serious! Dana can't go two against one with Kakashi! That's gotta be worse than Orochimaru!_

with Dana

She felt something grab her lower arms and pull them behind her back. She looked behind to see…another Kakashi? "What the…" she muttered. _Gotta think fast…Two against one…_she thought while looking ahead. _One's gotta be a clone…but which one? There's one way to find out. I just hope I don't hurt the real one._ She put her chin down to where her loose choker necklace hung. On the necklace was a bumpy piece of metal in the shape of her favorite transmutation circle. Kakashi was still charging forward when a huge shock of blue light exploded.

with Sasuke

"Shit" _This is really getting bad…I've got to stop this._ He thought when he saw the blue light. He started running towards the scene. _They're both too serious about this. Chidori…something gotta be wrong._ He stopped when he felt something grab his arm.

"Don't get into this, Sasuke. You'll only cause more trouble." He heard another Kakashi say.

_Is he the real one?_ Sasuke thought. He heard a poof behind him. _Wait…I didn't hit him…that means…FUCK!_ He thought and broke out in a sprint toward Dana and Kakashi.

with Dana

_I won't be able to hold this out for much longer…where's Kakashi?_ Dana thought as her defense started to weaken. She wasn't being held back anymore, but she needed to stay exactly where she was in order to safely and her circle.

"**DANA! STOP!**" she heard Kakashi scream. She stopped the transmutation circle immediately. The next scene was something that she would never forget.

Kakashi was on the ground, shaking violently. The man was drenched in his own blood and on his stomach.

_Oh shit! This is…this is like…like before…_ Dana thought as she dropped to her knees in horror. _Becca…NO! Becca's gone…but you can help Kakashi!_

She saw someone running towards them, but she didn't care. The only thing on her mind now was saving Kakashi. She stumbled over to him and turned him onto his back. Checking for his pulse, she noticed that she was crying. Finally, after a few moments of groping (A/N: yet I know that sounds wrong…) she found the pulse in his neck. _Oh, thank god…at least he's alive._ She thought while taking his jacket off to see his wounds.

_I tried to control it a little and only attack him around his legs, but I don't think it worked…It doesn't look like it did…SHIT!_ She thought when she saw an off-white color sticking out of his chest. Now she was really starting to panic. _Ok, Dana…5 seconds of panic…that's it! _

_5…_

_4…_

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

…she thought while shutting her eyes. "Sasuke!" she called to the boy standing behind her. "What the fuck happened?"

I'll tell you later. Just back away from us if you don't want to end up like him. And don't interfere. Got that?"

"Yeah." He said while backing away.

"Alright…lets to this." She said to herself. _Guide me through this again, teacher._ She thought while shutting her eyes and clapping her hands. She took a deep breath, knowing what the up-coming surgery would be like. Opening her eyes, she placed her left hand on top of her right, and focused the alchemic power with a huge amount of effort. With the utmost caution, the Memory Alchemist proceeded to bend the copy ninja's rib into place. Once it was exactly how it started, Dana began to close up the remarkably large wound. Luckily, the wound just below the belly-button.

_Shit…this isn't good._ She thought when the first pang of exhaustion hit her. _You know exhaustion is one of the side effects of that defense, Dana. So don't start complaining! Gotta stay awake._

There was still one more wound that she could see. Moving towards Kakashi's head, she realized that this wound went below where his mask ended. (A/N: MUHAHAHAHAHA… I KNOW I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOO CRULE!!!!!!!!!!) She pulled down his mask in order to heal the wound. _…guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu… NO DANA!!!! STOP AWING AT HIM AND FIX HIS FACE!_ Inner Dana screamed as she saw what was behind the mask. _Ok, Dana snap out of it…_ she thought as she shook her head. She moved her hands towards the beautiful face in front of her and healed it.

Putting the mask back over his face, she quickly mended the tear in the cloth.

She then sat back and sighed. She looked at her blood stained hands and then at Sasuke. "Come on, you wanna help me bring him back to my apartment. I guess he'll have to stay there until he wakes up…" she said. She cleaned her hands and sighed. _So…tired…_

Sasuke went to pick Kakashi up silently. _What was that? So strict all of a sudden. Was it the fight? Did the chidori get her?_ He thought as the two started walking to Dana's apartment.

By now it was nine o'clock and people were just waking up to face a snowy Saturday.

When Dana, Sasuke, and Kakashi reached the apartment, she told Sasuke to lay Kakashi down on her bed while she found him some clean clothes. "Would you mind changing him…since…I don't think he would like me doing it for him?" she asked Sasuke. The black haired boy simply nodded.

She left her apartment, and let herself into Kakashi's home. It was much the same as hers. There was a small kitchenette and a bathroom on opposite sides of each other, a bed next to the window, and a table with four chairs in the center of the room. There were two dressers; one of them was also a nightstand while the other was near the foot of the bed.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain coming from her left side. She fell to her knees, grasping for air as the pain worsened. When she felt as if she could handle moving, she crawled to Kakashi's bathroom and checked herself for any wounds. Sure enough, she found one below her ribs and reached down to her mid hip. She started healing herself while sitting on the bathroom floor. _Heh. Too bad the state was too fixed on my memory skills to notice my healing ones. They could have names me something to do with that instead of the Memory Alchemist._ After all that was over and Dana could move again, she started looking for Kakashi's clothes.

After rummaging for a few minutes, she found the Copy Ninja's clothing and was out the door in no time.

She came back to her apartment to find Sasuke sitting backwards on a chair, watching Kakashi. "Here, I'll go make some tea. I brought a few bags from my house. You want some?" she said, handing Sasuke the clothing.

"Sure." He said monotonously. He got up to start changing his teacher's clothing. (A/N: yet again, awkward.)

"Oh, if you don't mind, when you're done, could you put the clothes into the tub in the bathroom? You can wash off the blood on your hands off in there too. You'll probably get some on them." She said before the entered the small kitchenette to start boiling the water.

_I should apologize to Sasuke about before. That was really rude of me, saying 'don't interfere' like he was a bother._ The girl thought while staring blankly into the boiling water. _And now I'm exhausted too. Great, I can't even sleep in my own bed! Well, it's my own fault. I shouldn't have done that transmutation. Well, what else was I supposed to use? That was a tough attack._ She thought.

The water began to boil and Dana turned off the stove. After pouring the water and soiling it with the tea bags, she called out to Sasuke. "Hey, you done out there?"

"Almost. It's okay to come out now."

She walked out to see Sasuke bringing the clothes to the bathroom. Kakashi was in the new clothes already. She sat down and sipped her tea quietly.

After a few minutes, Sasuke came out of the bathroom with a wet spot on the bottom of his shirt. "What happened?" Dana asked when she saw the spot.

"Nothing."

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yeah. I just got some of his blood on my shirt."

"Oh. Did you clean it out with cold water?"

"No. warm."

Dana sighed quietly and got up. "Here, let me fix it." she said as she walked over to Sasuke, who was still standing.

She clapped her hands and covered the spot with her palms. Luckily for Sasuke, she wasn't looking at his face. He was red as a tomato from nervousness. _Oh Kami, oh Kami, oh Kami…just relax, Sasuke. Don't let this bother you!_ He mentally screamed, trying to get a hold of himself.

"There. That's better." Dana said and got up to go back to her seat.

Sasuke sat down, facing away from his sensei, and drank his tea. After a few moments of awkward silences, he heard Dana speak. She said: "Sasuke, I'm sorry for what I did out there…I was rude and I didn't intend to act the way I did…are you really annoyed with me now?"

Sasuke looked up to meet the saddest blue eyes he had ever seen looking at him. He shook his head. "No, I'm not annoyed at all. I understand why you acted in the way that you did. I would have been the same if I was in your position. Don't worry about it." he said.

_Damn it Sasuke, you made her think you fucking hated her. Why can't you just tell her that you fucking love her?! Doesn't she want to know what you think of her?_ Inner Sasuke screamed.

Dana let out a joyful sigh. (A/N: sighing AGAIN!) "Well, that's a relief…I defiantly don't want to make enemies this early on." She said. Sipping her tea, she looked over at the unconscious Kakashi. Her usually clean blue eyes were now clouded with heavy thoughts.

Sasuke followed her gaze. "Is he gunna be okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. But I wouldn't put him in a hospital if he doesn't want to. Do you think he'd go?"

"No. he doesn't go to the hospital unless he has to."

Dana nodded. _Didn't I have something else to do? What was it?_ She thought. "SHIT! I'll be right back, Sasuke!" she said while jumping out of her seat. Opening her door, she added: "If Kakashi wakes up, don't allow him to move at all. Tell him not to move until I get back. I'm so sorry, Sasuke."

And she was out the door sprinting towards the old training grounds.

Rebel Angels yes, although she **is** the memory alchemist…I guess things tend to slip her mind. Think of her kind of like Sczesca…Dana has a photographic memory and based her training around that…but she also leaned the alchemy that Ed and Al learned…but you'll find out about that later…please review what you think!...see you next time!


	8. First Day In

_Shit! You could have at least brought a coat! What the hell is wrong with you lately, Dana? It's like your memory is turning into mush! I mean, come on! How hard did you work for your title? What would sensei say to this? AND WHAT ABOUT IRUKA-SENSEI!?! How could you forget for so long! I mean, come on, Dana." _Inner Dana shouted while sprinting through the gates to the old training grounds.

The snow was still red where the fight took place. She looked around to see if anyone was waiting for her, and low and behold, she saw a man with tan skin coming towards her, smiling as id he was the happiest man alive.

"Hey! I didn't know if you were going to come back or not." The man said when he met up with Dana.

"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei. I got caught up, please forgive me." She said, trying not to show that she was panting.

"Nothing to worry about. Come, you look as if you just ran a marathon. And how can you stand not wearing a jacket?" he said, ushering Dana towards the entrance of the training grounds.

Dana, only wearing a thin, long sleeve shirt (meaning no jacket) walked over to where the red snow lay. Shivering, she cleared the sight and got rid of the color that didn't belong. She went back over to Iruka, who was now closer to the exit.

"Dana, are you sure that you want to start training today? I saw how difficult your fight was. It must have taken a lot out of you."

Dana didn't know what to say.

"How about this: why don't you contact me whenever you've settled in. we'll start training then. I teach from seven in the morning, until two, but I usually don't leave until two thirty. So when you're ready, just come find me, okay?"

"Okay, Iruka-sensei. Thank you so much, for everything." Dana said as they left the training grounds. "Oh! How did last night go?"

Judging by the look on his face when she asked this, Dana figured that it was a success. "Oh, that's great! I'm so excited for you two!" she said with joy. "Was she shocked?"

Iruka was smiling like a five year old. "Yeah, she was. She had no idea."

"Oh, that's great! Well, I'll see you later, Iruka-sensei. Sorry again about making you come out in the cold."

"It's not a problem. Bye, Dana." Iruka said, and the two walked off in different directions.

Running back to her apartment, she ran into Sakura again. "Hey Sakura." She said kindly, as the sprinted past her. "Hey, Dana, wait up!" Sakura called out to Dana. "I was thinking, you wanna hang out later? I'll introduce you to I bunch of my friends. Can you?"

Thinking about Kakashi, she wondered how he was recovering. _There's no way he'll wake up today. He's perfectly fine, so I don't have to sit around all day watching him. He just needs rest…_ "Sure! That'd be great! When and where?"

"How about at three and the school's main entrance."

"Sure, see you then!"

"Okay, and bring some money with you too."

""Kay." Dana said, and the two went on their way.

Walking into her apartment, she saw Sasuke, still sitting exactly where she left him, and Kakashi, unconscious, exactly where she left him.

She closed the door softly. "Sasuke…thank you so much…I feel horrible about leaving you like that."

Sasuke didn't say a word s he got up to put his mug in the sink.

_Aw shit! He probably thinks I'm some ass who uses people._ Dana thought as she brought her own mug, now filled with cold tea, into the Kitchenette.

Putting her cup in the sink, she bumped hands with Sasuke accidentally. "Sorry." She said quietly.

Again, Sasuke didn't say a word.

Dana was checking on Kakashi when she heard the door to her apartment open. She looked around to see Sasuke about to leave. "Wait!" she said urgently.

Sasuke stopped and looked at Dana with an expressionless face.

"If, you're not too busy…can we talk?" she asked, feeling like a shy little girl.

"Now?" he said flatly.

"Can you stay?"

Sasuke closed the door behind him and too his jacket off again. Sitting back down, this time facing Kakashi, he looked up at the still standing Dana.

She moved to crouch down next to Sasuke. "What can I do to make this up to you?" Dana looked at him with the deepest blue eyes he had ever seen. Dana could defiantly give Naruto a run for his money.

Sasuke was actually surprised when he heard this come out of Dana's mouth. He looked away from her in order to stop the blush from rising to his face. "Nothing." He said as flatly as he could manage.

"Come on, there's got to be something?"

'_Kiss me…that's what I want from you now.' But you can't say that Sasuke, she'd think you're some gross pervert._ Inner Sasuke contemplated. _Think fast, Sasuke._

"Just let it go this time, alright. Next time you owe me. Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"…Yeah…I guess…thanks again, Sasuke. I…I really appreciate it."

The two got up and walked towards the door. Sasuke put his coat on again and walked out the door. "Hey." Sasuke said, drawing Dana's attention from the floor. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

Dana smiled at this offer. Not a full out smile, but just enough to make Sasuke realize that he said the right thing. "Okay, sure thing. See you later, Sasuke."

When he was out of her sight she shut the door and walked into her bedroom again. She looked over at Kakashi. _Well, better get to work, Dana. You have a lot of work and not a lot of time…_she mentally sighed.

After cleaning Kakashi's bloody clothing and scrubbing her tub for any left over blood, she started to unpack. She gently folded her favorite brown dress and places it in the bottom drawer. She put most of her other clothing in the top drawers of the dresser.

And after that, she made a mental to-do-list and checked her first task as done. Next was what she was dreading the most, simply because she hated doing it…food shopping. "Yosh. Now where is that map? I'm sure I saw a food market on there somewhere…" she reached for her map that happened to be on the dresser. "I don't even know what the prices are around here…"

Not a moment later, Dana was out the door with her keys, map, wallet, and coat on.

She pushed the shopping cart through the isles hopelessly. She had no idea where anything was, and the fact that there were no signs showing what was in each isle was absolutely no help at all. She looked down the isle that she was currently in and saw a boy, around her age, wearing a unique green outfit. She walked over to him casually. "Excuse me, can you tell me where the milk is?" she asked politely.

"Why of course I, Rock Lee, shall help you on your quest." The boy said boldly. He soon began showing Dana around the entire supermarket, while explaining why each item in the store can help one stay healthy, until they finally reached the dairy products.

"Thanks for the help, Rock Lee." The alchemist said, feeling extremely awkward.

"It was not a problem at all. In fact, it was a pleasurable experience. But before I leave you to your shopping, may I have the name of the wonderful woman whom I have helped so willingly?" (A/N: yeah…maybe I over did lee's part a little…I just couldn't help myself!)

"It's Dana. I'm new here, so I don't really know my way around here just yet."

"Well then I must take you to see the wonderful village that I am proud to call my home sometime."

"Well thanks for the offer, Rock Lee…"

Lee interrupted her. "Please, just call me Lee. There is no need to be so proper around friends. Hopefully I will soon be able to introduce you to my lovely cherry blossom."

"Your what?" she said confused.

"My lovely Sakura. She is the beauty that has captured my youthful heart."

"Do you mean Sakura Haruno by any chance?"

"Yes! You already know of my cherry blossom? Isn't she wonderful!?!"

"Yeah, she's fun. I haven't really gotten to know her so…"

"Where did you meet her?" he interrupted eagerly.

"This morning when her teacher wanted to bell training with us."

"Oh, that's wonderful! Well, I believe I have overstayed my time. Allow me to help you with anything else if you ever need it. Good bye, Dana."

"Bye Lee, thanks again. It was nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I hope to see you around." He said and left.

Dana smiled as she picked up her milk. _The people here are so friendly…I think I'm going to like it here…_

She went home and checked on Kakashi, who was still unconscious. She finished putting all her groceries away and went to the next job on her to do list. _Alright…its twelve o'clock…you can finish most of the things u need to do before you meet Sakura…_ inner Dana said.

And then she was off to a supply store. She bought a few spiral notebooks, some envelopes, a crap load of pens, highlighters, tape and some post-its. While she was browsing the store isles, she saw another goy around her age. He had an extremely…interesting outfit. One in which Dana would never have thought of. He wore a light tan shirt and black pants. On his right arm he wore bandages down to his fingers, but Dana could tell that he wasn't hurt. She noticed that he had the same forehead protector as Sasuke and Naruto.

Dana tried hard not to stare, but she couldn't help looking into his eyes. They were like nothing she had ever seen, and she had seen a lot in her time. They were white…and the boy had…no…pupils. Yes, defiantly the strangest set of eyes the memory alchemist had ever seen…

"Yes?" the boy asked Dana nonchalantly.

Dana stiffened. "Oh…umm…I'm…I'm sorry…I was just…fascinated with your eyes. You see…I'm new here, so I…yeah…sorry about that…" she babbled. _Smooth, Dana…reallllllllllll smooth…YOU'RE SUCHY A FUCKING IDIOT SOMETIMES! WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU SAY SOMETHING SO IDIOTIC TO A STRANGER LIKE THAT!_ Inner Dana screamed.

"Mmm…I can tell your not from around here…It's pretty obvious." The boy said monotonously.

"Yeah…about that…I just got here yesterday, so I don't really know that much about the village. I'm Dana West. What's your name?"

"Hyuuga Neji. Good to meet you, Dana. Konoha's a pretty easy place to figure out. You probably wont have a hard time figuring it out. See you." He said, and he left.

After that errand was finished, Dana went to the nearest drug store and bought some toiletries that she didn't bring. _Alright, next I need to find a bank of some sort…and get some of my money transferred here…Well…I guess I should just ask Sakura about that when I see her in…SHIT! HALF AN HOUR! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THE SCHOOL IS YET! Chill, Dana…_Inner Dana thought. That small inner Dana was quiet talkative today…

After dropping her stuff off on the table in her apartment, Dana checked on Kakashi again. She decided not to take any chances…the brunette put the Copy Ninja under a deep sleep and, just to be extra careful, wrote a note to the man, just incase he was to wake before she got home. The note read as follows: Kakashi, UNDER ANY CURCUMSTANCES DO NOT MOVE AN INCH! I'll be back soon. Just try and sleep. Thanks! Dana.

Dana left the sleeping Kakashi to find the school after setting up her note in a way for Kakashi to be able to read it with out moving.

The school wasn't too hard to find. The alchemist was met by a girl with the same eyes as Neji, a blond girl and a girl with brown hair pulled back into two buns.

"Hey! You must be Dana! I'm Tenten, this is Ino, and that's Hinata. Are you supposed to meet Sakura?" the girl with the buns said.

"Yeah, I am. It's great to meet all of you…how did you know who I was?" Dana asked. (A/N: OMG SO MANY PEOPLE! If I'd meet this many people in one day, I'd probably remember two, maybe three if I were lucky)

"Sakura sold us to expect a girl with brown hair and blue eyes to meet us." Ino said. "Sakura should be here soon. She said that she needed to deal with Naruto real quick."

Tenten moved towards Dana. "Hinata has a huge crush on Naruto. Just so ya know." She whispered.

Dana smiled faintly and nodded. "Okay! So what do we have planned for today? Sakura told me to bring some money, did you all bring too?"

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late." Sakura said as she ran to meet up with her friends. Everyone greeted their friend.

"So you ready to go?" the pink-haired girl asked.

"Um…where exactly are we going?" Dana asked, since she was obviously oblivious to what Sakura was talking about.

"Oh, that's right! I didn't get to tell you. We're gunna go shopping a little then go to the hot springs. It's kinda like our annual Saturday…thing…Sorry I didn't tell you beforehand. I'll lend you some money if you need." Sakura said as they left the school grounds.

"Oh! Yay, I'm excited now…I haven't bought any sort of clothing in a really long time!" Dana said happily.

"Like how long?" Tenten asked.

"At least four months…I haven't really had time to shop lately."

"Is that because of those guys you live with?" Sakura asked, and then continued telling the rest of the group about Dana's living situation with Ed and Al. Well, what she knew of it."

"Oh Kami! So you live with guys? And I thought just working with them was a pain!" Ino said.

"Yeah, well they're like my brothers now…but they're still a pain."

"So…tell us about them…" Tenten said.

"Well, what do you want to know about them? I have a picture of Ed, the older brother, and me back at my apartment, but none of Al." the alchemist said.

"They cute?" Ino asked.

Dana tried to keep the blush from coming to her face. "Um…I guess? I mean, they're not ugly."

Dana continued to tell her new friends about Ed and Al until they reached the clothing store.

"So this Ed is really somethin, huh?" Ino said to Dana as she waved a polite hello to the storekeeper.

"Yeah, he's fun." Dana said smiling warmly.

"Seems like he has a crush on you, I mean with all the stuff he does for you." Tenten said, looking through some clothes racks. "Ooh! This would look great on you, Dana!" she said, pulling out a dark green shirt.

"You sure? I don't really wear V neck…"

"Well, try it on. I'm sure it looks good on you. Tenten has skills like that." Sakura said, already holding some cloths for herself.

After looking around for a little, the group went into the dressing rooms.

Dana tried the cloths on, and as Sakura promised, the green shirt looked great on her. Also, the jeans she picked out fit her just right.

"Hey, you wanna show us?" Ino said, knocking on the dressing room door.

Dana came out to see Tenten smiling proudly. She was wearing a low cut sweater with a camisole underneath.

Sakura came out of her dressing room wearing a deep red shirt under a soft gray sweatshirt. "I like it, Dana…I really like it!"

"I like yours too. I really like everyone's. They clothes really make you all look…" she paused to find the right word. "beautiful." She said in a slightly different tone.

"Aw thanks, Dana! Does it really make me look good?" Ino said, spinning around so that everyone could see what her shirt looked like.

"Yeah! I think you should defiantly buy it!"

"What about me?" Sakura asked.

"Its really interesting. I think that if you wore that while going out with more people than just us, a lot of people would think about you." She said, secretly implying to Sasuke. Sakura obviously got the message.

"Really! I wasn't even thinking about that!" the pink haired girl said happily.

"Your so right, Dana. I never would have described it like that, but that's exactly what it is…" Tenten said, deep in thought.

And so the girls continued to complement each other, and then proceeded to buy the clothes that they liked. They were then off to the hot springs happy.

While on their way to the springs, the group of girls ran into Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba and Akamaru. They talked for a bit, introducing Dana and then discussed a few things that Dana didn't understand.

"So, Dana, how long are ya gunna be staying at Konoha for?" Kiba asked while Ino was yelling at Shikamaru about something.

"For as long as the Hokage wants me, I guess…I'm going to become a ninja like all of you guys."

"Really now? Hm, that's interesting…"

"Yeah, is that a problem?" she asked, obviously confused.

"Are you our age? Just wondering."

"I guess…you guys 16?"

"Yeah…don't want to be rude, but you might have a hard time catching up. We're all gunna be Chunnin soon."

Dana had absolutely no idea what Chunnin meant, but she got the basic idea. "Well I'm not really worried about that…I'm a pretty fast learner, if I may say so myself."

"Heh, alright, just…"

"What are you bothering Dana about now, Kiba?" Sakura said playfully, interrupting him."

"Haha, real funny, Sakura." Kiba said dryly.

"Alright, well, I'll see you tomorrow with those papers, Shikamaru. I will see them tomorrow, wont I Shikamaru?" Ino said impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, Ino…jeez, what a pain!" he mumbled.

"Good. Come on guys." Ino said to the group of girls.

"I'll catch you later, Dana." Kiba said.

"See ya." Dana said, and they went their separate ways.

After soaking in the hot springs and talking about absolutely nothing for about half an hour, Dana felt a set of eyes staring at her back. Her eye twitched.

"I'll be right back…" the alchemist said, and with that, got out and put her robe on in a flash.

"DIRTY OLD PERVERT! HOW DARE YOU!" Dana shouted a few minutes later as she beat up the Sannin.

Sakura ran outside just in time to see all the commotion. She stopped dead in her tracks a few feet away.

"J…Jiraiya…JIRAIYA! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING!" Sakura screamed.

Dana stopped in mid-punch. She was huddled over the beaten up Jiraiya holding the neck of his shirt with an angry hand. She looked up to see Sakura's shocked and bright red face.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean any harm! It's research! For…for my books!" Jiraiya said to Dana.

"You think I'm gunna believe that excuse? Why don't you use your damn imagination if your writing a fucking book! You don't need any god damned visuals!" She said forcefully, two inches away from his face.

"Psh." She said, and let go of the man.

Sakura was still standing in her shocked state of being. "Hey, Sakura, you wanna go back? I don't think anyone will be bothering us anymore." She said to Sakura. She turned around to look at Jiraiya. "Isn't that right, Jiraiya?"

"Y…yes. I'm sorry." Jiraiya stumbled.

"Yeah, you better be." Dana mumbled.

Sakura was still shocked as the girls walked into the hot springs.

And as all good things must come to an end, the girls went their separate ways and went home.

Dana came home to a soft, but pained moan. She sighed and moved over to where Kakashi was laying, and noticed that he was just waking up.

She brought him back to his unconscious state and finished putting her stuff away tiredly. The alchemist ended up sleeping on the floor near the bed.


	9. Letters

Chapter 9: Letters 

Dear Ed and Al,

Only a few days gone and I'm already having to heal people! (And the sad thing is that I was the person who hurt them…) But nothing serious happened, so there's nothing to worry about! We got to the village a few days ago, and I'm finally starting to settle down. Well, at least I'm not being moved from place to place that much.

The people are so sweet here! They helped me with everything from the moment I got here, and they made me feel so welcomed! It's absolutely NOTHING like Central, at all. The villagers are more like one huge family, rather than individual people. They're all focused on teamwork and things like that, which is just a little different from the way the State Military works, as you know very well. It's such a…what's the word…a pleasant thing to see.

I'm starting to begin my training now, and it's…defiantly a work out. I'm learning these things called jutsus, which I guess you could relate to transmutations, but they involve a lot of other things…so they really aren't like alchemy at all, now that I think about it. You don't really break things down into its original components and then into something different with jutsus like we do with alchemy. Did that sentence even make sense? If it didn't, don't worry about it. I know we alchemists are people of science, but these jutsus are like magic. I can't figure it out yet, even though my sensei has explained it to me so many times. I know how to perform them, but I don't really see the logic of it…at least, not yet. (And yes, once again, I am determined to figure something out. You know me, once I set my mind to something, nothing can change it.) But I can go into that topic another time, if you want. I just meant to say that I'm learning some fascinating things right now.

And since I feel like fully updating you two right about now, I'll go on with this letter!

I've met some really great people here. You already know Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi, but they also have one more team member (who couldn't come to pick my up) names Sakura. She's really sweet and reminds me of Winry a little bit. Sakura, like Winry, is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet, but get her angry and………she's a lot like Winry…that's all you need to know. And there are a bunch of other people who I don't really feel like writing about right now, so if you want to know about them, just tell me.

So how are things back in Central? Are you guys managing without me? Haha, just kidding, I know you can! Is Winry still with you? If she is, then will you tell her that my arm is holding up perfectly with the repairs she made? Thanks! So, are you being sent on any new missions? If so, tell me all about them! You know I wont show anyone these letters, so you can tell me anything. Oh, and since I know how much you love hearing about this EVERY DAY, how's Elysia? Sorry I had to leave you all alone to listen to Hughes like that. But hey, rather have that than not having him at all, right? And how's Mustang? Is he ripping your head off yet, Ed? I know I sound like a kiss-ass when I say this, (and I don't intend to be one) but send him my regards. You can even tell him that I don't want to sound like a kiss-ass if you want!

I know it's only been a few days, but I miss you so much already! I know that I wont be able to come home and see you for a while, and knowing that makes me miss you two so much! Keep in touch and tell me everything that's going on!

Dana

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Dana,

Hey, It's Ed! Thanks for the extremely long letter; it really brightened up my day! I'm serious! You basically figured out everything that's going on over here right about now. I swear, I think Mustang sees me as a new punching bag! (Oh, he says hi and that you don't sound like a kiss-ass at all. You're lucky; he was in a good mood today while I was reading your letter.) And the whole Hughes family is "wonderful!" as Maes says.

Everyone here says hello, and that they all miss you. I know it's only been a few days, but everyone has noticed your absence. You know, it's really different without you around. I knew it would be different, but it's a lot more different than I expected it to be like. And yes, Dana, Al and I are managing quite well without you. Although it isn't the same without you…at all. Winry is still here, and she says hey and that she's glad your automail is holding up, and that she's going to write you a letter soon. But as I was saying…

It really isn't the same here without you. Everything is kind of boring now, but that may also be because I haven't gotten any assignments for a while. We're still looking for the stone, as you know, but there's no new news with that one. Just the same old shit.

I'm glad you're settling in well. Remember how hard it was for us? It's funny, now that I think about it, how hard it was for us to settle into the house. But I'm glad you don't have to deal with that again. I'm very proud of you for already hurting people…that's my Dana! (Says proudly!) And I'm sure you already have a ton of friends. I know that's just the way you are! Tell me about them in your letter, if you want.

So tell me about thus magic that you were starting to talk about. It sounds really interesting, especially because you called it "magic". What do these "jutsus" actually do? And how do you do them? I'm seriously interested, so tell me anything that you think would catch my attention…and also the stuff that you don't think would catch me, because you know that I find everything interesting after a while.

Well, I'm afraid I have to finish up now. Mustang's going to rip my head off otherwise, as I'm sure you know very well! Al says hi and that he would write a letter to you if he could (but you know that he cant) and also that he misses you too. In fact, we all miss you! Reply soon!

Yours always,

Edward Elric

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Ed,

I'm so glad my letter brightened up your day! Yours did for me too! I feel like I'm training under Izumi all over again…except, my teacher is male and not as strict. But remember how tough she was on us, even though we didn't train together? You should go see her since you two aren't doing anything. I'm sure she would love it…even if you two didn't finish your training.

I've become friendly with most of the people our age, since their population is so small. They're wonderful people, and such personalities! I swear. You could never be bored if you're around these people. There's this one girl named Ino, who has such a fresh personality that you cant help but laugh with her! And then there's Hinata (who has these amazing eyes, by the way. It looks like she doesn't have pupils, and her iris' are almost white! She told me that it's unheard of to have those eyes and not be from her clan…it's really cool!) who is the quietest thing I have ever met! There are so many different kinds of people here, it's really amazing.

My training is going along well. I'm a very fast learner (as you know) so I'm catching up with the rest of the people our age. But, as you can imagine, I'm nowhere near as advanced in the "art of the ninja" (as they call it) as everyone else is. There are there are some similarities in comparison to the State. Everyone here seems to have their specialty. (Like you are the Full Metal Alchemist, I'm the Memory Alchemist, Mustang's the Flame Alchemist, so on) For example, Sasuke (you met him…he's the one with the black hair) has this eye technique called the Sharingan, which helps him manipulate people through illusions called "genjutsu". The Sharingan eye also helps him predict people's movements and a lot of other really intense stuff. (The Sharingan is another one of those traits that are passed down in a family.) My other friend, Lee, is extremely excelled in "taijutsu". (Taijutsu is equivalent to us sparring, but pumped up a little.) I could just go on and on about what people in this town can excel in, but I won't because I know you don't really care that much. But, like I said before, I'm nowhere near as advanced as everyone else. I haven't really excelled in anything…at lease, not yet. And since you're so interested in this stuff, I'll go on.

I'm not 100 knowledgeable about this stuff, but I'll tell you what I know. So there's this thing called Charka. Chakra is basically body energy that's collected from cells throughout the body. But it's also has to do with mental power…somehow. (I don't really know that much about the mental power part, but I'll talk to my teacher about it soon.) Then, by doing certain hand movements, the chakra is activated and you can create this thing called a jutsu. There's science behind it all, but its really fascinating stuff. You can do so much with Chakra, and the fact that I know alchemy too makes me able to understand this stuff even more!

So there's your brief summary of what I'm learning. If you have any questions, or if you didn't understand something, please tell me in your reply letter.

I'll be training with a new teacher soon. Actually, I'll be training with him as soon as I pass my genin exam. (That's the equivalence of graduating from school. One still learns, but earns more responsibilities and gets paid.) So by the time this letter gets to you and your reply comes back, I'll probably know a bunch of new techniques. The training here has been tough on my body, but it's nothing to worry about. If Whinry is still with you guys, tell her that I say hello and that my arm is still holding up well, but that I'm considering, ONLY CONSIDERING, ordering another arm just like this one. You know, just incase this one breaks and I can't reach Winry at the time. But tell her to wait on the order until I figure out what's going on. But as I was saying…

The chakra that I told you about put an enormous strain on my body when I started training with it. It's most likely because I'm missing a lot of cells with the automail arm, but I guess I'm just going to have to deal! And now I don't feel weak or strained anymore, so I guess that means that my body has adjusted to the use of my chakra.

But enough about me, tell me about you and everything that's been going on by you? Tell Al I say hello and that I say don't worry about writing me a letter. And how's…everyone! I feel so loved that people miss me! I miss everyone too, and you can tell them that if you want. But just try not to get too beaten up by Mustang!

All right, well I'm afraid I have to wrap up this letter. It's getting really late, my exam is coming up, and I have training tomorrow. I miss you so much and I wish I could see you right now.

Yours truly,

Dana West

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Dana,

I'm so sorry I haven't been able to write for a while. Mustang sent Al and me on a mission to Rice Country the day after I sent you my last reply, so we just got back. Our mission this time was to get some information about this town that was oppressing its villagers, and to help them out. Exciting, right? We ran into some troublemakers, but nothing serious happened. I met this man who knew some information about the stone, but all he would tell me is to not make it, and he kept on glancing at Al for some reason. Maybe it's the armor. People don't seem to feel comfortable around a giant suit of armor, even though Al is so sweet. It's funny actually. Even that far away from Central people know who we (Al and I) are. That reminds me, have you fully introduced yourself to anyone in that town of yours yet? What is the town called again? I know it had to do with leaves. You never actually told me what the village is called.

So by the time you get this letter, you'll probably be so skilled that you would be able to take on five Mustangs, right? This charka really is interesting; from what you explained of it…you can elaborate on these jutsus if you want. Oh, and congratulations on becoming a genin! (I'm sure it was tough for some people, but it was probably really easy for you!) So, how's your new teacher treating you? Are you earning a lot of money? Mustang says that he's counting your time in the village as a mission, so you're getting paid for this whole time. And he also said that you don't need to do a write up of this experience when you come back, and to just enjoy your time there (I am SO jealous of you!) I think Mustang is becoming bipolar lately. Or PMSing…that's always a good excuse for him. But most of us think he got laid or something in that genre. You know how Mustang is after he "takes a night off". You're probably rolling your eyes, sighing, and nodding your head in agreement right now. Am I right? He'll probably get back to his usual self in a few days, knowing him. But as I was saying before Mustang told me to write all of that (Well, most of it anyway…)

I'm sure you're being kept busy with everything that's been going on around where you are. Winry left a few days ago, while Al and I were on the mission, but I'll send her the message. And everyone at headquarters sends their regards again. As always, tell me anything new that you want to tell me about. There's really not much going on around here. There's talk of the Fuhrer going to some graduation-ball-thingy, and that all the majors who work under Mustang are going to have to go, so I guess that means that I'm going to have to go as well! Joy for me, right? Well, I'm so sorry to cut this short, but Mustang wants me at headquarters bright and early tomorrow, and it's getting really late. We all miss you, and reply soon!

Yours always,

Edward Elric

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Ed,

I'm glad you finally responded! I was starting to worry that something happened! But I'm glad you were only on a mission. (Which sounded SO exciting! I'm sure you had a BLAST!) And can you tell Mustang that I say thanks? I'm sorry you have to deal with him at such a time as this. And yes, I defiantly know how it is when he's like that. I feel for you. If it makes you feel any better, my teacher reads these little porn books whenever he can, even when he's around my team! (I'm in the same team as Sasuke and Naruto. Kakashi is our teacher, and Sakura is the other girl in the group. Oh, and the town name is Konoha, or the Village of the Hidden Leaf…but everyone calls it Konoha.) So I hope that makes you feel any better. Sakura and I plan to bury the books one day and make sure he doesn't find them, but we both know that we wont ever put that plan in action.

Just as I promised, I've learned quite a few new techniques now. One skill that you might like is that I can walk up trees and on water without my hands. Cool, right? I love doing it. It's not much a technique as much as it is a skill, though. Kakashi wants us to know the basics that we didn't learn in the academy. (I didn't attend the academy like everyone else did. I was taught everything by one of the teachers from the academy. So I was taught everything that everyone else learned, but I learned it all in about two weeks, while everyone else learned it all in five years…wow. That's weird. I just realized how fast I learned that stuff! And it's a lot of stuff too! That's interesting…) So Kakashi just finished teaching us all that stuff. Now we're going to start learning techniques. It really took me longer than it should've on order to maintain my chakra in order to walk on water. But I learned, and that's all that matters. Oh! Another really fun skill that I learned was how to transform my body in order to look like someone else. How intense is that! I'll show you sometime.

So tell me about this ball…thing. It sounds interesting. Is it for a mission? If so, who's going to be there? Is it just some huge party? What's the occasion? Tell me everything you know about it. You know what's funny? Well, not funny, but interesting. I'm going to be taking the Chunnin exams soon, and the people who pass participate in this party…thing. It's kind of like a graduation party. But my teachers and peers who have already passed the exams attend it every time there's an exam, so it's not really a graduation party. And I believe it's coming up soon! So I hope I'm skilled enough to pass. And I also hope you'll be cheering me on!

I'm actually nervous about this exam. Everyone says it's extremely hard and that people actually die in this exam, but of course I wont, so you don't have to worry about that…what am I thinking! I don't have anything to worry about! We've dealt with maniacs on our missions before! I don't need to worry about this at all! And with alchemy like mine, I have no reason to worry! (Remember when we took the test in order to get into the military? You said the same thing!) Yeah, sorry about that…I guess I am a little nervous about the exam. I always am when I'm being tested for stuff.

And now I just realized that I'm babbling on and on and you're probably thinking, "Dana, what the hell have they been doing to you? When is this letter going to end already?" So, I'm sorry about that. It's late. And I guess I don't have all my thoughts together after a long day. In fact, I think I'm going to sleep now. Kakashi-sensei trains us really hard all day, so we have hardly any more energy at night. It's funny…if you knew Kakashi-sensei, you'd think that all he wants to do is sit under a tree and read his little porn books, but he's pounding work on us really hard lately. And the fact that he's training me even more (in order to help me catch up to everyone else) on top of what he teaches the group just…I'm going to shut up now. Please reply soon with any news you want to tell me about.

Yours always,

Dana West

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Dana,

First off, don't apologize for your babbling, it's cute! And it brightens up my day to hear from you. I know that just sounded really awkward, but it's true! (Wow. It really sounds like I'm messed up right now. I hope Mustang isn't rubbing his bipolar attitude off on me. I think I should go on a really REALLY long mission so that I can visit you so I can both 1) see you and 2) regain my sanity. Al should come too! Yeah, I think I'll do that…)

I haven't learned too much about that whole party thing, but I do know that it's around our birthdays, which sucks because I'd rather not work on my birthday. But I guess I'm just going to have to suck it up. I don't have any way out of it…unless I get hospitalized! Then I wouldn't be allowed to go! Just kidding, you know I would never do that! I think I'll ask Mustang about it tomorrow, because he hasn't really told us all about any of it. I don't even know if I'm supposed to wear my uniform (which I have yet to get tailored…not good news. Besides, I hate that thing!) or what I usually wear. Like I said, I have absolutely no idea about most of this whole thing.

Oh, and don't worry about your Chunnin exams, Dana. I know it'll be easy for you. And if it makes you feel any better, everyone in Central that knows you is rooting for you. This is really random, but you know what would be interesting? If the Furor changes your name from the Memory Alchemist to the Ninja Alchemist…sounds good, right? Dana West; the Ninja Alchemist. I like it, what do you think?

Everyone around here is really tense about something. I have yet to find out what exactly, but I think the state alchemist exams are coming up soon, and you know how intense those are. And lucky for you, you don't have to worry about that whole review-trial-thingy…remember last time when I went up against Mustang in a fight in order to stay in the military? So you should consider yourself lucky! I mean, the Chunnin exams are tests that you can take again and again, right? Ha, now I'm the one babbling! You already know what I'm talking about, so why do I have to go into such detail? Oh well, I already wrote it, so I'm not going to cross it all out. You're probably thinking about what an idiot I am right now, and I will tell you once again that I strongly believe that Mustang is getting to me…

So I know this letter is short, but there really isn't much going on around here. Winry says hey and so does Al and everyone else. Hughes, Mustang, Hawkeye and that whole group say hi as well, and that they miss you. I miss you and I cant wait to see you when I finally can!

Yours truly,

Edward Elric

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Ed,

Sigh, I'm so sorry I haven't been able to reply sooner, but it seems as though Kakashi is training me every second of the day. To tell you the truth, I think I may have rather Izumi than Kakashi. They would enjoy each other's company. They're both strict. But it's all okay, because I don't really mind training now. It's more like exercise now. It's something I enjoy. But one thing that I defiantly did not expect from my training was the problem that I now face: I need to buy myself a new wardrobe, because my clothing is coming apart from the training that I've been doing.

I've learned so many new techniques now, and they're all really intense. Sasuke taught me how to spit fire balls at people, which apparently I wouldn't be taught if anyone else was teaching me it, because it's a technique that only his clan uses. So I guess that makes me special? It's a really fun technique, and it really helps me out with stuff. But it was a pain in the ass to learn. There's a different kind of learning system here in Konoha. It's very new to me, because I tend to rely on my mind a little more than my body. (And yes, Ed, the Ninja Alchemist would be a really awesome name.) In a way it's like what Izumi always said. Remember how teacher always said "to train the mind to it's potential, you've got to train the body"? Well, in Konoha, that plays a pretty big role, but I've trained the body more than I've trained the mind. I've worked my body to the point where I'm surprised that I'm able to manage my way back to my apartment, but I haven't trained my mind in the same way. It's interesting. Do I make any sense at all right now? I hope I am.

As the date for the Chunnin exams approach, I find myself more and more ready for them. I've been getting myself psyched and now I feel confident with every step I take. But the fact that you told me that everyone in Central is rooting for me just boosts me up even more. But don't worry, Ed, its not getting to my head. I know that I'm not the best ninja, and I know that there will always be a ninja who is better than me, but I'll try my best to pass the exam.

And I'm also sorry, but I've got to run too. Kakashi is waiting for my afternoon training, and then I have some meeting to attend for the Hokage. I'm really looking forward to getting paid for this one! Other than what I've told you now, there isn't really that much going on. I miss you and I cant wait to see you as soon as we can! Tell everyone I say hello!

Love always,

Dana West

PS: I forgot to mention that the exams are around our birthdays, more around yours though. Does it really matter though? I mean, we're a day apart! So anyway, while you're at your party (which I do want to know more about) think of me taking my exam!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Rebel Angels**: I'm so sorry I haven't written in a while, so that's why I didn't get a chance to post this up sooner. PLEASE review and tell me what you thought of this chapter, because I really have NO IDEA how people will like it! Thanks for reading!


End file.
